The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is granting a €50 million ($54.1 million) loan to Türk Ekonomi Bankası A.Ş. (TEB) to help women-led businesses across Türkiye. This financial support is part of the broader €600 million ($649.3 million) Türkiye Women in Business II programme. The main goal is to provide female entrepreneurs with better access to the financial and advisory services they need to grow their companies.

Currently, women represent nearly half of the population in Türkiye, yet their participation in the workforce is among the lowest in the OECD. This new credit line aims to bridge that gap by targeting specific demographics. At least 70 per cent of the lending will be directed toward businesses located outside the country’s major cities. Additionally, the programme intends for 35 per cent of the funds to reach new clients who have not previously benefited from such financing.

TEB has worked with the EBRD on several previous occasions and plans to use these new resources to expand its existing small business portfolio. Since 2009, the EBRD has invested nearly €23.9 billion ($25.9 billion) in Türkiye, focusing heavily on private sector development. Officials believe that increasing the number of women in the economy is vital for long-term national competitiveness and sustainable growth.

“Expanding economic opportunities for women is central to Türkiye’s long term growth. Through this new financing, we are deepening our partnership with TEB to ensure more women led businesses, especially those outside major cities, gain the resources they need to invest, innovate and thrive,” said Oksana Yavorskaya, EBRD Deputy Head of Türkiye.

Gökhan Mendi, TEB Senior Assistant General Manager of Retail and Private Banking, highlighted the bank’s long-term commitment to this cause. “The increased participation of women in the economy and workforce is of vital importance to our country in order to achieve sustainable development. In this regard, it is essential to increase the number of women entrepreneurs and business owners while supporting their access to finance. At TEB, we have been working on this for a long time. Leading our sector, we have been developing specialised products and services for women entrepreneurs and business owners through the Women’s Banking initiative, which it launched in 2015. It aims to support women in unlocking their economic potential by facilitating their access to financing.”