The FOSTER Project improved the competitiveness and sales of Oturakçı Toys, which received a loan through the Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme to purchase raw materials on favorable terms.
The enterprise’s owner, Mehmet Oturakçı, notes that purchasing raw materials shortly before the earthquake via the loan relieved them significantly in the post-earthquake period; he also stated, “FOSTER Project’s loan brought us some fresh blood.”
Mehmet Oturakçı began his business career at a young age by selling souvenirs and stationery. In the years that followed, he pursued his entrepreneurial spirit by beginning to sell toys at retail and wholesale. Mr. Oturakçı claims that they produce over 1 million toys per year and that his main motivation is to make children happy with the toys he creates. Toys, he believes, are the greatest gift that families can give to their children, aside from love.
The retail shop and the factory’s administrative office were damaged in the earthquake that occurred on February 6, 2023, in Oturakçı Toy’s Şanlıurfa Organised Industrial Zone facility, which is built on a total area of 17 thousand m2, of which 6 thousand m2 is indoor area.
Mehmet Oturakçı explains that their production has been slowed for two months, and their cash flow has been affected because they have not received payments from customers in Kahramanmaraş, Adyaman, and Hatay.
Oturakçı Toys preferred to receive the loan within the FOSTER Project to meet their raw material needs due to the low and subsidized interest rate / profit share. Oturakçı states that “Due to the exchange rate difference, our prices became cheaper and more competitive than other enterprises, and this has increased our sales”. Oturakçı Toys currently supplies goods to the domestic market and exports to France, with the current goal of expanding their export markets.