This project will provide 200 low income women in Turkey basic training on gender and financial literacy and initial loans for their micro businesses for one year. In Turkey, only 29,5% of women are participating in the labor force (the lowest rate among OECD countries) and this project, by providing the necessary basic knowledge and capital, aims to support women in entering into the labor force and earn a decent income by starting and running their own small enterprises.
In Turkey,only 29,5% of women are participating in the labor force, lowest rate among OECD countries. Women are excluded from work force due to low education, gender roles, insufficient skills, insufficient care services, increasing unemployment rates,etc. Entrepreneurship can provide means for economic empowerment of women, however women in Turkey are also excluded from the formal financial services (67% of women are unbanked) and don't have access to or fulfill collateral requirements of loans
Entrepreneurship is important for economic empowerment where employment opportunities for low income women are low. Micro finance can provide the necessary capital for low income women to start and run their businesses. However, there are only 2 micro finance institutions in Turkey and both of them lack the finances to meet the demand from women. With this project, 200 more women will be supported in entering into the labor market by starting their own small businesses and earn a decent income
This project will enable the training of 200 women on basic financial literacy and will provide them with micro loans for their businesses. This will support them to earn a decent income and economically empower. It is a proven fact that women invest their income in their families and children. Hence, it can be expected that not only the women that get the support, but also their children and their families will have better living conditions in the long term.
