Garanti BBVA has marked 20 years of its programme aimed at supporting women entrepreneurs in Türkiye, a project launched in 2005 to address long-standing gaps in access to finance and business support. Over the past five years alone, the bank has provided more than €5 billion in financing to women-led businesses, positioning the initiative as both a commercial strategy and a driver of inclusive economic growth.
“Empowering women entrepreneurs is not just a matter of social responsibility, it is a business priority and a strategic investment in inclusive economic economic growth,” says Selin Öz, Manager for Entrepreneurship Banking at Garanti BBVA. She added that what began as an effort to serve an underserved segment has since developed into a model recognised internationally for its measurable impact.
Despite being among the world’s 20 largest economies, Türkiye continues to face a significant gender gap in employment. Women account for 49.8% of the population, yet labour force participation stands at 34.3%, well below the OECD average of 63%. Garanti BBVA says these figures prompted the bank to act.
“Recognizing this, Garanti BBVA took action in 2005 with the vision to become the bank of choice for women entrepreneurs. We set out to close this gap not only by expanding access to finance, but by redefining what a bank can do to enable long-term business success,” Öz explains.
Central to the programme has been a clear definition of women entrepreneurs, covering businesses where women hold more than 50% of the shares, as well as self-employed professionals and individual business owners. This approach has allowed the bank to collect sex-disaggregated data, assess performance and manage the segment as a distinct business line.
The support framework is structured around four main areas. In finance, Garanti BBVA offers tailored loans and applies gender-neutral credit policies, channelling more than €5 billion over the last five years, including €2.5 billion in 2025 alone. Education and training are delivered through initiatives such as the Women Entrepreneurs Academy with Boğaziçi University, which has reached 6,000 graduates across 30 cities since 2012.
The bank has also focused on visibility and encouragement through the Women Entrepreneurs Award, which has received more than 48,000 applications since 2007, and on market access via digital tools such as the “Women in Trade” platform, now used by 2,000 registered entrepreneurs.
According to Garanti BBVA, the programme is now recognised by organisations including the IFC, EBRD and the United Nations. “In a world facing intersecting challenges — climate change, inequality, and technological disruption — gender-inclusive finance is more than a moral imperative: it is a lever for resilience,” Öz states.
