Mekosan Boru, a manufacturer of pipe packaging, countersinking and grooving machines, and pipe and profile painting lines, has relieved its cash flow with the FOSTER Project loan and aims to expand its product range. Company partner Hamdi Atay states that they used the loan provided within the scope of the Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme in prototype manufacturing and R&D activities.

After working as a senior manager in the private sector for years, Hamdi Atay established Mekosan Boru in Kayseri in 2010 with his friends. Mekosan Boru has an annual production capacity of 45 machines. Atay adds that their biggest motivation while establishing Mekosan was “to produce the machines that are not manufactured in Turkiye and to lead the sector”. Atay states the pipe profile packaging machine production was previously led by Italian companies and the sector became more competitive with Mekosan’s inclusion. They have stopped imports and currently started exporting to 49 countries, including the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Greece, Germany and the United States of America.

Atay explains that they mainly used the loan for R&D and prototype manufacturing, as well as covering employees’ salaries, and expenses of electricity and mechanical parts. FOSTER Project Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme loan attracted Mekosan due to reasons such as “easy application, easy and subsidized payment procedure”.

Finding qualified employees has been one of the most important difficulties that the enterprise has faced since the establishment of its business. Atay emphasized that they train their employees to improve their skills. He notes that they have employed two people as part of the FOSTER Project and adds that the employment has been sustained as a result of the project, and they are pleased to be able to contribute to the labour force they require rather than employee circulation.

Madosa Tekstil operates in Kahramanmaraş where the devastating earthquake occurred. They can benefit from the FOSTER Project thanks to the flexibilities introduced for SMEs affected by the earthquake. Madosa Tekstil, which purchased raw materials with the loan received from the Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme, plans to increase its production in the future.

Madosa Tekstil, which lost four employees in the February 6, 2023 earthquake, was discovered to be slightly damaged during post-earthquake inspections. Just one week after the earthquake, the business owners resumed production. Yet, due to the earthquake, the enterprise was unable to meet its FOSTER Project employment commitments because its employees were relocated to different provinces. Serkan Kayabaş, Personnel Supervisor, stated that they have continued to benefit from the project through the flexibilities introduced to the earthquake-affected provinces, and added, “In the first monitoring period, we could not apply for the support for the repayment of half of the interest payment because most of our employees moved to other cities and we could not meet the previous year’s average number of SSI premium days. We were already having difficulty finding employees for the new employment commitment, but thanks to the new flexibilities, we were able to apply for payment for two monitoring periods, which were promptly paid.”

Kayabaşı stated that they used the loan provided by the Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme to purchase yarn as raw material and that they chose the loan because of “its long maturity, low and subsidised interest rate / profit share.

Madosa Tekstil manufactures raw fabric in its facility built on a total area of 16 thousand square metres, 13 thousand square metres of which is a closed area. In 2022, the company produced 31.8 million square metres of fabric and is still producing today with 138 machines and 150 employees. Because it primarily sells to Istanbul and Bursa, the company encountered no problems with post-earthquake orders. Madosa’s current goal is to increase production, and the company plans to expand its machinery park next to its existing facility in the future.

Gülsan Metal operates in different areas of the aluminum sector from scrap trading to profile production and made its water tower investment in their new aluminum billet facility through the loan provided within the FOSTER Project Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme. Yaşar Birgül, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, states they preferred the loan due to its low interest rate / profit share and long-term maturity.

Yaşar Birgül started working in his father’s scrap trading business when he was 21 years old. He established Gülsan Metal with his brothers in 2000 and began selling imported aluminum and contract-made aluminum billets to the domestic market. During the pandemic, Gülsan Metal began producing aluminum profiles, and they now produce 320 tons of aluminum profiles per month, approximately 40% of which are exported. Birgül adds that they primarily manufacture curtain and furniture profiles.

They have also expanded their aluminum billet production to Bilecik, where they will produce billets using 800 tons of scrap and 400 tons of ingot aluminum per month, with the remainder being sold to the market.

“We installed a water tower which is crucial for our operations to cool down the aluminum billets through the loan we used within the FOSTER Project and purchased the raw materials.” He adds that they intend to manufacture solar energy panel frames in the future.

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.

While supporting thousands of SMEs, FOSTER Project contributes to the formal employment of people by creating job opportunities. Emine Değirmencioğlu is one of these people and lives in Kayseri. After searching for a job for years in a corporate company, she made her dreams come true thanks to the FOSTER Project. Değirmencioğlu, who started working at T EN ENERJİ in Kayseri, dreams of providing employment opportunities for young people and women when she becomes a manager one day.

Değirmencioğlu is 30 years old and graduated from Erciyes University, the Department of International Relations, in 2015 and she completed the Department of Theology at the Open Education Faculty in the same period. After working as an English teacher for a year, she decided to work in a corporate company. However, she couldn’t find a job she had dreamed of. “I was looking for a job, the interviews were going well, but I couldn’t find a job because I had no experience,” Değirmencioğlu describes that period. Before finding her dream job, she gave private English lessons and attended different courses at the Public Education Center at the same time. Degirmencioğlu says “I was thinking of improving myself in other areas to be able to increase my job opportunities. While teaching, I also established my own small business and made online sales”. However, she continued to look for a job in a corporate company and to advance her career. At the end of six years, thanks to the FOSTER Project, she started working at T EN ENERJİ. Değirmencioğlu, who manages the social media accounts of the enterprise and the international business, provides support for the coordination of the units as well. She describes her emotions:  “I have a job where I will gain experience in the field of my education and have new experiences that will broaden my horizons. Being in the work environment and adding new experiences to my life is truly precious. The process has been busy, peaceful, and happy since I started working.”

She explains why finding a job is also crucial for her by saying “After a 6-year process to find a job, I am happy to see myself as an individual who produces and contributes to the family budget which makes me and my family happy.” While noting that she is now employed thanks to the support provided to the company that hired her, she wishes for other employment projects for women especially recent graduates to increase.

FOSTER Project Team has conducted the Environmental, Social, Health & Safety (ESHS) Compliance Monitoring between October 30 and December 8, 2023. Project Team paid site monitoring visits to beneficiary SMEs that are classified as “medium” risk according to their sectors and sizes. Through visits, it is aimed at strengthening their compliance with national legislation and international standards regarding the environment, occupational health and safety, and social requirements.

ESHS compliance offers a complementary approach to support SMEs in becoming environmentally and socially responsive enterprises while promoting sustainability. The primary goal of the mission is to empower SMEs for their transformation into enterprises that are environment-friendly, binding to national environmental, occupational health & safety, and social laws, regulations, and international standards. The Project Team also provides feedback through the reports indicating areas for improvement in line with the Environmental and Social Management System established within the FOSTER Project. In accordance with the comprehensive assessments made during the visits, SMEs are encouraged to take the necessary steps to ensure a sustainable future.