Tech 4 Refugees
The Problem
Entrepreneurs lacking business acumen for the Turkish context are faced with a lack of access to the market which limits the scalability of their business and their integration into the economy. SMEs require fruitful and supportive relationships that identify areas for collaboration which provide mutual benefit for entrepreneurs and corporations facing challenges.
The Solution
I4D matches SMEs with reputable international companies operating in Turkey to bring forth win-win situations in which entrepreneurs expand their client base and corporations meet their needs. Matchmaking contributes to social cohesion through collaborations that demonstrate the ways in which SMEs add value to corporations regardless of their nationality or ethnic background.
In this framework, Tech 4 Refugees was an accelerator program designed to facilitate beneficial cooperation between Syrian-led SMEs specializing in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the major technology companies (Oracle, Microsoft, Google, Amazon AWS, Insider, and Dimagi) . The program aimed to pave the way for solid business partnerships between ICT SMEs and market-leading technology companies. The program was financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and took place between December 2019 to December 2020.
Tech 4 Refugees has brought together 9 Syrian-led ICT startups, 20 mentors, and 6 big tech companies including Oracle, Microsoft, Google, Amazon AWS, Insider, and Dimagi for mutually beneficial cooperation and partnership. At the end,project beneficiaries together with the ICT corporates have laid a foundation for further cooperation with newly-established and refugee-led businesses across the MENA region.
