German Sparkassenstiftung's projects in Turkey aim to improve the financial and business education of refugees and Turkish host communities in supporting access to financial services, thus raising living standards. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Patience pays off
In his opening speech, Managing Director Niclaus Bergmann thanked all stakeholders, partners and the team for their tireless efforts in starting activities in Turkey. Although the ministry had already approved the project in 2019, the local approval process was delayed due to the pandemic. Finally, in March this year, it was granted and the project activities can now start.
In the interim phase, the local team worked ahead. The training materials were adapted to the cultural and linguistic context and new training modules were developed. At the same time, virtual pilot trainings and webinars were held, reaching more than 2,000 people.
The path to financial literacy
In addition to the opening of the office, another milestone was reached: Memoranda of Understanding were signed with the Turkish Ministry of Education and the two sub-departments to advance the path to financial and entrepreneurial literacy for the target groups.
To this end, training courses are to be organized for 280 trainers and for 3,600 students from 45 schools with the help of German Sparkassenstiftung's Business Games. At the same time, learning and training centers for up to 1,300 young adults are to be created. There are also plans to set up more than twenty new hybrid libraries and five IT labs to support the target group.
Access to financial services
In order to also provide the target group with the necessary access to need-based financial services, a cooperation agreement was signed with the Turkish Grameen Microfinance Program (TGMP). The aim is to facilitate the provision of microcredits to Syrian and Turkish women microentrepreneurs. Over the past two years, 1,700 women, including 1,000 Syrian women, have already received valuable livelihood funds.
With the mix of basic financial education and access to needs-based financial services, German Sparkassenstiftung aims to improve the quality of life for the target group.
You can find out more about the ongoing activities via the project's English website: https://www.sparkassenstiftung-turkey.org/en/