EBRD loan to support women in business in Türkiye

• EBRD loan to Turk Ekonomi Bankasi to better respond to needs of women-led SMEs
• Loan builds on a similar TurWiB transaction in 2015
• EBRD on track to promote gender equality in the country

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is extending a €50 million loan to Türk Ekonomi Bankası A.Ş. (TEB)  to expand financial opportunities to women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Türkiye.

The loan comes under the EBRD’s €600 million Türkiye Women in Business II (TurWiB II) programme, which builds on the success of the initial TurWiB initiative.

In addition to promoting and strengthening the role of women-led SMEs, the proceeds of the loan will help TEB to adapt its business model and delivery mechanisms to make them more inclusive and better meet the needs of women-led SMEs. TEB will also expand its Women in Business portfolio and target clients outside major urban areas.

The EBRD had previously undertaken a similarly targeted transaction with TEB in 2015.

The EBRD remains focused on promoting gender equality in the Turkish economy. In 2022, the Bank celebrated its tenth anniversary of supporting Women in Business in Türkiye. TurWiB was launched in 2014, before becoming operational in many economies across the Bank’s regions.  

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Türkiye. Since 2009, it has invested more than €17 billion in various sectors of the economy, mostly in the private sector.