World Bank’s support for Turkish enterprises in earthquake zone tops $3B

Over 95,000 Turkish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the Feb. 6 earthquakes in southern Türkiye have received over $3 billion in grants from the World Bank Group, the world’s largest development bank reported.

The group focused on rebuilding infrastructure and small businesses as two World Bank-funded initiatives worth $1.45 billion will rebuild damaged infrastructure and provide 7,000 housing units for the rural population.

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), part of the World Bank Group, has also provided a $952 million guarantee to finance six new hospitals designed to withstand possible earthquakes in Gaziantep, a province south of Kahramanmaras that was also in the wide area affected by the quakes.

Reviving Turkish SMEs

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group, increased access to credit for small businesses with a $530 million fund and nearly $430 million in financing, creating access to finance for more than 55,000 SMEs.

The IFC also provided a new $100 million loan to the Industrial Development Bank of Türkiye to improve gender inclusion and create jobs, particularly in the earthquake regions. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Revitalization Support Project for earthquake-affected enterprises was also launched in September 2023. The project provided financial support to 39,680 SMEs, thus, the number of SMEs supported by the World Bank Group reached approximately 95,000.

In addition, with the Türkiye Small Industrial Sites Reconstruction and Regional Economic Recovery Project, a financing opportunity of $600 million was created for the establishment of seven disaster-resistant small industrial sites that will host 1,600 micro-enterprises.

The IFC also provided $150 million in green credits to Sanko Holding to rebuild earthquake-damaged infrastructure and revitalize its operations, including the construction of new green-certified production facilities in Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep, as well as neighboring Adiyaman province.

New aid packages worth approximately $1 billion will be provided to support the Turkish people’s post-earthquake recovery efforts, following the group’s announcement of an additional $1 billion in support on Jan. 16.