Representatives of the women's entrepreneurship ecosystem come together

Representatives of Turkey's women entrepreneurship ecosystem gathered in Antalya to advocate for policy and legislative support for women entrepreneurship. At the "Women Entrepreneur Associations Consultation Meeting" organized in cooperation with KAGİDER and UN Women Turkey, common demands, experiences and solution proposals were discussed. Following the meeting, the "Women Entrepreneur Associations Statement of Turkey" will be prepared. KAGİDER and UN Women Turkey jointly organized the "Women Entrepreneur Associations Consultation Meeting" where women entrepreneur associations across Turkey convened. The meeting, held on 18-19 April at Antalya Akra Hotel and attended by representatives from the business world and civil society organizations as well as KAGİDER and UN Women Turkey executives and members, focused on addressing challenges faced by women entrepreneurs and exploring solutions. Participants exchanged views on how to develop policies and strategies supporting women entrepreneurship and worked on concrete solution proposals. In his opening remarks, KAGİDER Board Chair Esra Bezircioğlu emphasized the importance of women entrepreneurship for economic development and gender equality, stating: "Strong policies and support mechanisms are needed to fully unlock the potential of women entrepreneurs. This meeting offers an opportunity to determine the steps to be taken in the field of entrepreneurship and to act together. The decisions we make will be an important turning point for the future of women entrepreneurs."

Bezircioğlu, highlighting the importance of investing in women, added:

"Today we are taking an important step to strengthen and support women entrepreneurs in Turkey. I believe that the joint decisions and efforts we make here will make a significant contribution to strengthening women entrepreneurs in Turkey and to our country's economic development. Together, we will continue our efforts towards women's economic empowerment and achieving gender equality." UN Women Turkey Program Manager Duygu Arığ said: "Meaningful market participation of women, support for women entrepreneurship and representation in large companies' supply chains are some of the key steps to be taken towards women's economic empowerment. These key steps can be advanced through gender-responsive procurement. Women entrepreneurship is of critical importance for economic growth and social development. Women entrepreneurs, with their innovative ideas and business skills, provide economic vitality while also contributing to strengthening gender equality. Gender-responsive procurement can be defined as the support of women entrepreneurs and the preference for products and services based on gender equality principles. In this way, by supporting women entrepreneurship, an important step can be taken towards achieving gender equality. Economic development can be achieved through women's participation with more inclusive quality and standards improvement, equitable and sustainable growth." Throughout the meeting, participants discussed barriers faced by women entrepreneurs, their financing needs and training requirements. Market access, gender-responsive procurement, procurement from women suppliers in the private sector, public institutions and municipalities, problems, solution proposals and targets, as well as access to finance and incentives were discussed, with consensus reached on public initiatives, mixed financing models and other issues. At the meeting where work was conducted on three main headings for women entrepreneurs in our country and for policy and legislative support of women entrepreneurship, the "Women Entrepreneur Associations Statement of Turkey" will be prepared to be presented to decision-makers. The goal is to submit this statement to relevant institutions and organizations to take concrete steps in supporting women entrepreneurs.