Merve Tezel, General Manager of Visa Turkey said “Our goal is to help SMEs acquire the knowledge and skills they need to realize their growth potential.”
Orhan Turan, President of TÜRKONFED said “I Can Manage My Business Project combines TÜRKONFED's widespread and effective member structure in Anatolia with UNDP's international knowledge and network. The project reinforces its effectiveness by bringing Visa, which represents Turkey's most powerful financial institutions under one roof, as well as Boğaziçi University, which stands out with its academic competence.”
Claudio Tomasi, UNDP Turkey Resident Representative a.i. stated “As UNDP, we are proud to be involved in such a cooperation and we think that the ‘I Can Manage My Business’ platform will become a global model in the context of private sector's contribution to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.”
After implementing the pilot training in Adana in April 2019, the project has been launched in Antalya and provided the developed training content to 134 SME owners and/or managers on 13th and 14th of September.
The project addresses a real need in Turkey where SMEs represent 99.8% of all enterprises and 73.5% of employment and sustainability of SMEs is of critical importance to the health of the economy. “I Can Manage My Business” aims to reach 900 SMEs in 6 cities within the first year and 3.000 in three years.
Created according to the SME Profile Research conducted by Sabancı University, the training encompasses financial discipline, business planning, and digitalization & e-commerce content, and delivered by 6 premier academicians from Boğaziçi University.
In line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 8: “Decent Work and Economic Growth” and Goal 9: “Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure”), the project aims to increase the sustainability of SMEs and ultimately support the wider economy. Policy recommendations will also be an important output of the program at the end of three years as supported by the UNDP.
SMEs form the backbone of Turkey's economy and it is highly important for them to make the right moves for the sustainability of their business in highly competitive and fragile global economy.
This Project aims to help SMEs develop skills, knowledge, attitudes, and confidence to maximize the potential of their business for the benefit of their enterprises and that of the wider economy. “I Can Manage My Business” Project will be an important model to showcase globally.
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