Adams Diş is Building its Future with the FOSTER Project’s Loan

Tevfik Ali Demir, 43, launched his second business, Adams Diş, one of the FOSTER Project’s beneficiary SMEs in Gaziantep. Before starting his new business to produce dental prosthetics five years ago, Demir worked in the auto repair industry. Demir has an aspiration to continue his business whereby training those who want to learn the profession. Being fascinated by the dental prosthesis sector since his childhood, Demir participated in a training programme in this subject after starting his own vehicle maintenance company. Meanwhile, he worked as an apprentice in a dental clinic. He is a graduate of business management, and this enables him to use the knowledge he has learned in the classroom to his business. Demir, who currently owns a business that employs 24 people and produces 150 prostheses per day, wants to create a company that maintains its prosthesis manufacturing operations while also serving as a training facility to help close the training gap in this industry. When it comes to both capacity and technology, Adams Diş occupies a solid position in the industry. They have 60% of their processes digitalized thanks to their 3D printers. Despite the Covid 19 pandemic’s capacity drop to 10-15% and the earthquake’s disruption of the business for a week, they were able to bounce back. Demir provides the following justification for how the FOSTER Project subsidy will help the business develop in the future: “We have been able to buy our raw material stock for the next two years. This has helped us to lower our costs for the upcoming period while also boosting our profits. Additionally, because we paid cash, the supplier gave us a sizable discount.     

Ravanda Halı is Relieved with Financial Support

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.”

Trans-El Elektrik Pursues Growing with Exports

Trans-El Elektrik, which produces oil-type distribution and power transformers in Şanlıurfa, aims to heal the wounds of the earthquake occurred on February 6, by increasing its export volume.

Müslüm Kara (36), a young business person who is an electrical and electronics engineer, runs Trans-El Elektrik in Şanlıurfa with his two partners. Trans-El Elektrik is one the beneficiary SMEs of FOSTER Project’s Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme and they purchased raw materials with the favorable loan and boosted their working capital.

Their business was adversely affected by the earthquake that took place in Kahramanmaraş and neighboring provinces therefore, they could not collect the products they sold, especially in Adıyaman and Kahramanmaraş, and the checks were not paid yet. Emphasizing that their operations have completely stopped at times, Kara adds that employees have also lost their motivation. He underlined that the need, which grew more urgent in the wake of the earthquake, is primarily financial assistance to cover the fixed costs of SMEs during their period of inactivity and to offer investment incentives to boost capacity and employment. investment incentives to increase capacity and employment.

Trans-El Elektrik meets the demand for qualified personnel by retaining experienced staff and training the new hires. Kara continues, “Supporting employment empowers them so he aims to increase the number of employees from 40 to 250.” He explains that as an entrepreneur, contributing to production and exporting nourishes him. Kara states, “We produce an average of 3 thousand transformers annually and we aim to increase our exports to Europe and America rather than the Middle East. ”Osman Karakaş is one of the workers Trans-El Elektrik hired as part of the FOSTER Project. Karakaş, 36, provides for his family’s needs through his work as a bobbin winder. As he explains, “I got a job thanks to the project, and my dream is to sustain my job.”

The Employment Criteria Within the Employment Committed SME Support Programme Have Been Relieved in Six Provinces Affected by the Earthquake.

The employment criteria within the Employment Committed SME Support Programme have been relieved in six provinces affected by the earthquake within Empowering the Private Sector to Foster Social and Economic Cohesion in Türkiye (FOSTER) which is financed by the European Union, managed by KfW Development Bank and implemented by KOSGEB.

The following conveniences have been provided to beneficiary SMEs in the earthquake affected FOSTER Project provinces, namely Adana, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis and Şanlıurfa;

Revision in Job Creation Criteria in Six Provinces

The requirement that at least half of the jobs committed shall be created, will be skipped in six earthquake affected project provinces; namely Adana, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Kilis, Kahramanmaraş and Hatay. Winning SMEs within the SME Support Mechanism in these six provinces will be free to fulfil their commitments through job retention or job creation.

Flexibility in SSI Premium Days

Within the programme, SMEs are required to pay at least 80 SSI premium days for each created or retained employment within the respective 4-month period. The requirement has been reduced to 40 days for SMEs operating in Adana, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis and Şanlıurfa. SMEs in Ankara, Bursa, İstanbul, İzmir, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Mardin and Mersin shall pay at least 40 SSI premium days only in the first monitoring period instead of 80 for each employment. For the remaining monitoring periods, at least 80 SSI premium days is required to be paid in these nine provinces.

One-third of the total SSI premium days for the 12 (twelve) months prior to the announcement date of the call for proposals will not be applied towards the fulfilment criteria.

The Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme Conditions Have Been Relieved in Earthquake Affected Project Provinces

The conditions have been relieved for beneficiary SMEs in six provinces affected by the earthquake on February 6, 2023 under the Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme of FOSTER Project, financed by the European Union, managed by KfW Development Bank and implemented by KOSGEB.

The following conveniences have been provided to beneficiary SMEs in the earthquake affected FOSTER Project provinces Adana, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis and Şanlıurfa.

Revision in 50% Job Creation Criterion in Six Provinces!

The requirement that at least half of the jobs committed shall be created, will be skipped in the earthquake affected project provinces, namely Adana, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Kilis, Kahramanmaraş and Hatay. Loan recipient SMEs within Interest Rate / Profit Share Subsidy Mechanism in these six provinces will be free to fulfil their commitments through job retention or job creation.

Flexibility in SSI Premium Days

A minimum of 60 SSI premium days must be paid for the new employee in the relevant quarter in order for them to qualify as a “job creation” under the Programme. The condition is revised for the SMEs in earthquake affected provinces as “at least 30 SSI premium days shall be paid for the new employee in respective quarter” instead of 60 days. SMEs that make the 30 SSI premium days payment for each “retained” or “created” employment in respective quarter will be deemed to fulfil the employment commitment. There will be no control and comparison of the previous year’s average SSI premium days paid for retained employees.

Environmental & Social Compliance Monitoring Will Not Be Conducted Until August 31st!

Monitoring for the Environmental and Social Compliance that has been planned to be conducted in Adana, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis and Şanlıurfa will not be conducted between February 6, 2023 and August 31, 2023.

Flexibility in Exclusion Criteria

SMEs failing to fulfil their employment commitments for two consecutive quarters are excluded from the Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme. The amendment extends the exclusion period for the beneficiary SMEs in six provinces to four consecutive quarters (or twelve consecutive months).

Timeline of Call for Proposals is Updated Within Employment Committed SME Support Programme!

The Employment Committed SME Support Programme within FOSTER Project continues after an interruption due to earthquake disaster that hit six project provinces.

The second stage evaluation of the Employment Committed SME Support Programme within FOSTER Project will be held between May 24 and June 21, 2023. The independent committees formed for the second stage evaluation will evaluate the successful applications from the first stage.

The commencement date of implementation is August 1, 2023.

The updated Timeline of Call for Proposals is as follows;

Timeline
Activities Date
Announcement of Call for Proposals 26.12.2022
Application 26.12.2022-27.01.2023
First Stage Evaluation 30.01.2023-08.05.2023
Administrative Check 09.05.2023-18.05.2023
Corrections by Applicant SMEs 19.05.2023-21.05.2023
Final Administrative Check 22.05.2023-23.05.2023
Second Stage Evaluation and Announcement of Second Stage Scores for Objections 24.05.2023-21.06.2023
Application for Objections 22.06.2023-23.06.2023
Reassessment 26.06.2023-12.07.2023
Board Evaluation for the Eligible Objections 13.07.2023-26.07.2023
Ranking and Awarding 27.07.2023-31.07.2023
Implementation Start 01.08.2023*
First Monitoring Period 01.12.2023
First E&S Monitoring Period 01.12.2023-01.02.2024
Second Monitoring Period 01.04.2024
Third Monitoring Period 01.08.2024
Fourth Monitoring Period 01.12.2024
Second E&S Monitoring Period 01.08.2024-01.10.2024
Closure of SME Support Mechanism 01.03.2025

* The commencement date of implementation for SMEs claiming they are unable to involve in support process in Hatay and Kahramanmaraş is 01.01.2024. The monitoring schedules will be determined based on the relevant commencement dates.

FOSTER Project is financed by the European Union, managed by KfW Development Bank and implemented by KOSGEB.

International Women’s Day

The inspiring journey of Pınar Sabur, one of the women dreaming of standing on their own feet and becoming an entrepreneur, on her way to becoming one of the biggest paper cup manufacturers in Kayseri…

Pınar Sabur, the owner of one of the beneficiary SMEs of the FOSTER Project, is now expanding her company with Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme, financed by the European Union and managed by KfW Development Bank.

Pınar Sabur, who has been working for the exporting of a paint company for 8 years, decided to return to her business life after a 3-year break when she became a mother in order to follow her dream of becoming entrepreneur. Just two months before the Covid 19 pandemic started in Türkiye, Sabur established her own company to produce paper cups. The increasing consumption of disposable paper cups due to pandemic helped her business to grow during that time.

Pınar Sabur maintains her business, which she established with a single machine, with 12 machines and 10 employees today. Sabur states that standing on her own feet was her strongest motivation to establish her own business. She bought raw materials with the loan facility that she received within the FOSTER Project and she believes the loan contributed company’s cash flow. Sabur says “Reimbursement of 50% of the interest rate / profit share is the biggest incentive of the Programme. Facilitating access to finance and reducing the costs made the Project favourable”.

Sabur advises women who want to become entrepreneurs to follow their dreams and adds that the businesses touched by women’s hands are improving and glowing.

Due to the Earthquake Disaster in Türkiye, All Processes Have Been Postponed Within the Employment Committed SME Support Programme

Due to the severe earthquakes occured in 10 cities of Türkiye on February 6, 2023, all processes have been postponed within the Employment Committed SME Support Programme, implemented within the Empowering the Private Sector to Foster Social and Economic Cohesion in Türkiye (FOSTER) Project.

Respectfully announced to the public.

FOSTER Project

Thanks To SMEs For Showing Great Interest To Employment Committed SMEs Support Programme!

SMEs have shown great interest to Employment Committed SMEs Support Programme, implemented under Empowering the Private Sector to Foster Social and Economic Cohesion in Türkiye – FOSTER Project.

Within the scope of the programme, applications had started on December 26, 2023, SMEs submitted their proposals on the following subjects with the main theme of “Improving Competitiveness and Employment”:

  • Capacity Building (human resources, machinery, equipment, etc.)
  • Increasing market share
  • Product development and diversification
  • Increasing the added value of the product
  • Digitalization
  • Increasing energy efficiency
  • Transition to green production (recycling/recovery and collection/separation activities etc.)
  • Business-to-business (B2B) transactions

 

According to the calendar of the Call for Proposals, the first evaluation process of submitted proposals for the Programme has begun and accepted proposals will be announced on April 27 – 28, 2023

Personnel, machinery, equipment, molds, software and training expenses support will be provided to accepted project proposals within the Programme.

Eligible SMEs can obtain grant support up to 1 million Turkish Liras depending on their employment commitment. Employment will be supported for at least 2,788 people through the grant support for SMEs located in Adana, Ankara, Bursa, Gaziantep, Hatay, İstanbul, İzmir, Kahramanmaraş, Kayseri, Kilis, Kocaeli, Konya, Mardin, Mersin and Şanlıurfa. Employment will be supported through creation and retention of formal employment.

Employment Committed SMEs Support Programme is run under the FOSTER Project which financed by the European Union (EU), managed by the KfW Development Bank and implemented by KOSGEB.

Outstanding Interest From SMEs to FOSTER Project Information Meetings

SMEs have shown great interest to information meetings held in 15 provinces within the scope of Empowering the Private Sector to Foster Social and Economic Cohesion in Türkiye (FOSTER) Project.

More than 1,000 SMEs representatives attended the information meetings held in Adana, Ankara, Bursa, Gaziantep, Hatay, İstanbul, İzmir, Kahramanmaraş, Kayseri, Kilis, Kocaeli, Konya, Mardin, Mersin and Şanlıurfa.

The details of the Employment Committed SME Support Programme and Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme were shared with participants. SMEs’ representatives addressed their questions about code of practice and conditions of projects to experts during the meetings.

Within the scope of Employment Committed SME Support Programme, a total of up to EUR 35 million of grant support will be provided to at least 697 businesses. Employment will be supported for at least 2,788 people through creation and retention of formal employment.

The other component of the Project, Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme provides support for financing costs of loans for at least 1,500 SMEs in return of creation and retention of formal employment for at least 3,000 people.

FOSTER Project is financed by the European Union (EU), managed by the KfW Development Bank and implemented by KOSGEB.