- First grant from a private philanthropic organisation
- Supporting economic inclusion and women-led businesses
- Turkish micro, small and medium sized enterprises to benefit
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Turkey will benefit from improved knowledge sharing and advisory services thanks to support from J.P. Morgan.
J.P. Morgan became the first private organisation to support the EBRD’s operations with philanthropic co-financing. The new commitment marks the beginning of cooperation between the Bank and the Foundation aimed at supporting the growth of small businesses in Turkey and especially female entrepreneurship.
The new collaboration will help develop a new digital platform or solution that will expand access to know-how and learning opportunities for MSMEs. The platform will help businesses that face challenges in accessing information and the business networks they need to grow.
The EBRD will draw on the experience of creating its online business self-diagnostic tool, Business Lens, which helps women entrepreneurs identify the strengths and opportunities within their businesses. The tool has over 2,500 completions by women entrepreneurs in Turkey to date and over 7,000 globally.
Additionally, the funding will enable in-depth business support to promising high-growth women-led businesses in Istanbul. Advisory services will cover a wide range of areas, such as strategy, marketing, organisation and management, energy efficiency, accounting and financial reporting.
Supporting women-led businesses is one of the Bank’s priorities across its regions. The EBRD’s Women in Business programme helps women entrepreneurs to reach their full potential by providing access to finance and know-how to grow their businesses. Higher participation of women in the economy and closing the gender gaps is expected to increase the country’s overall prosperity.
The EBRD’s Women in Business programme has so far supported over 20,000 female-led MSMEs in Turkey and provided more than €525 million in credit lines to more than 70,000 women-led MSMEs in 23 countries.
The EBRD is a major investor in Turkey. Since 2009, it has invested almost €12.4 billion in various sectors of the country’s economy, with almost all investment in the private sector. The EBRD’s €7 billion Turkey portfolio is the largest among the 38 economies where the Bank invests.
