Türkiye’s Halkbank boosts women entrepreneurship with $2.2B fund

One of Turkiye’s largest public banks, Halkbank, has provided 40% of the funds disbursed to more than 250,000 Turkish women entrepreneurs in 2024, exceeding ₺82 billion ($2.26 billion), General Director Osman Arslan announced at an award ceremony for women entrepreneurs.

The award ceremony for the fourth edition of the “Halkbank Producing Women Competition” was held at the Istanbul Finance Center on Monday. Emine Erdogan, the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir; Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas; and Sibel Tatar, the wife of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Ersin Tatar also participated in the event.

Speaking at the event, Halkbank General Director Arslan emphasized the bank’s commitment to supporting women’s active and successful participation in the business world within the framework of the country’s economic and social development goals since 2021.

Arslan referred to the declaration of 2025 as the “Year of Family” by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stating, “The declaration of 2025 as the ‘Year of Family’ adds special significance to the Halkbank Producing Women Project. We firmly believe that, with the vision of the ‘Year of Family,’ we will elevate our key goals, such as promoting women’s entrepreneurship, facilitating access to finance, and expanding entrepreneurship training.”

‘Women drive positive change in their sectors’

Regarding government support to increase women’s participation in the workforce, Emine Erdogan highlighted the rise in the female employment rate to 31.6% in 2024, stating “Our government has implemented exemplary policies from day one to empower women in all fields and encourage increased female employment.”

Industry and Technology Minister Kacir remarked that Turkish women have outpaced many European countries in science, technology, and entrepreneurship. “In our 105 technoparks, 31,000 women are contributing to Turkiye’s future through innovative work, while 27,000 women work in our R&D and design centers,” Kacir said.

Underscoring government support for female scientists, Kacir added, “In the past 22 years, we have provided more than ₺20 billion in support to 172,000 female researchers through government support programs. We implement positive discrimination in favor of women entrepreneurs.”

Family and Social Services Minister Goktas praised the significant contributions of women to Turkiye’s economic and social development. “We are proud to see the creative impact in every project touched by women’s hands. We deeply value women’s efforts to realize their knowledge, skills, experience, and ideas,” she said.

Following the speeches, the awards were presented to the winners by Emine Erdogan, Ministers Kacir and Goktas, and Halkbank General Director Arslan.

The ceremony was attended by senior Halkbank executives as well as prominent female figures from the business world.