Gaziantep is one of the cities that is well known with carpet weaving, which is the livelihood of thousands of families in Türkiye. Ravanda Halı is one of the leading family businesses in the sector with 228 employees. The Company Manager Mustafa Uzanır emphasized the benefits of the loan under the FOSTER Project as follows: “The ability to receive interest rate/profit share subsidy makes the loan attractive in these times when it is difficult to obtain long-term loans”
He describes his business as: “This is a family business that has been operating for three generations. Our business began with hand weaving and a small machine, and since then our product range has expanded. ” According to 35-year-old Uzanır, who has nine years of professional experience, polyester and printed carpets are in high demand, and their production is primarily focused on exports, with Canada, Saudi Arabia, England, France, and United States among the nations they are exporting to. Additionally, 5% of the products are being sold to the domestic market.
The earthquake disaster in Kahramanmaraş, according to Uzanr, prevented his factories from operating for two weeks, making access to financing even more crucial. The loan they received through the FOSTER Project, however, helped to restore the company’s operations. “In our sector, raw materials are the key elements, and it takes an average of six months for the raw material to be converted into carpet,” says Uzanır while explaining the benefits of the loan under the Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme. “We were relieved to have cash on hand in that regard because access to finance is the biggest challenge facing the industry.”