Economic Empowerment Program
The Problem
There is a lack of business capacity-building programs and technical support for entrepreneurs from disadvantaged groups. Such entrepreneurs need new tools and services to adapt in the changing economic environment. COVID-19 pandemic caused a shrinking economy, in which SMEs are left isolated, leading to a need for innovation to meet new consumer demands and behavior.
I4D designs and implements incubation and accelerator programs to help SMEs grow through training in business and financial management along with providing technical and financial support. These programs equip Turkish and Syrian MSMEs with necessary business skills and facilitate social cohesion through technical assistance in the local business environment. I4D assesses the needs of SMEs and designs programs that are customized to those needs and delivers training in key business skill areas to ensure their success.
From this point of view, the Economic Empowerment Program (EEP) is designed for Syrian entrepreneurs in Southeastern Turkey to prepare them for the Turkish business world, help them to be equipped with necessary business skills and facilitate social cohesion through technical assistance in the local business context.
EEP brought together 39 entrepreneurs operating in technology, healthcare, education, agriculture and automotive sectors and 45 mentors who supported them to improve their businesses in better response to the pandemic. Paving the way for solid business partnerships between Turkish and Syrian entrepreneurs, EEP enhanced the entrepreneurs’ capacity to produce development-oriented projects in order to reduce geographical inequalities. The project was developed in partnership with SPARK and financial support from the European Union (EU).