After working for a furniture company, Alper Karaman, 46, who graduated from the business administration programme at Mustafa Kemal University, began his entrepreneurial journey in 2019. Karaman describes how the support he received from the FOSTER Project helped his business grow. Alper Karaman was born in Kayseri which is the hub of furniture industry in Türkiye.. In the course of his entrepreneurial journey-which he started by selling his home-Karaman now produces furniture like bunk beds, dressing room cabinets, foldable portable tables, refrigerators, large metal office supplies, and wheeled tools.
Karaman, who is also the Türkiye distributor of a foreign lock manufacturer, decided to follow his entrepreneurial dream after gaining experience for 13 years in various fields from production to planning. With the help he received from the FOSTER Project, he bought a welding machine and opened his own static paint shop in the machine park. The low interest rate, profit-sharing, and simple repayment terms of the loan, according to Karaman, allowed them to start mass production instead of pre-contracting dyeing and cut costs.