Successful Female Entrepreneurs Of “Women Fırst In Entrepreneurship” Project Are Presented.

“Women First In Entrepreneurship” project is carried out with the cooperation of Ministry of National Education Directorate General for Lifelong Learning, Vodafone Turkey Foundation and Turkish Informatics Foundation, and has reached more than 26.000 women in 20 provinces in 2 years.

In Women First In Entrepreneurship Competition, which is held at the end of the project’s second stage, successful women who turned their handwork into income by receiving training in entrepreneurship and technology are presented a total amount of over 50.000 TL monetary awards as lifeline funds to make their entrepreneurship dreams come true.

Successful female entrepreneurs of “Women First In Entrepreneurship” project are presented their awards on Women’s Rights Day on the 5th of December.

In “Women First In Entrepreneurship” project, which is carried out with the cooperation of Ministry of National Education Directorate General for Lifelong Learning, Vodafone Turkey Foundation and Turkish Informatics Foundation in an effort to improve entrepreneurship competence of women who want to turn their handmade products into income through communication technologies, successful female entrepreneurs have been presented their awards on Women’s Rights Day on December 5. Women First In Entrepreneurship Competition was held at the end of the second stage of the project that reached more than 26.000 women in 20 provinces in the last 2 years. A total amount of over 50.000 TL monetary award is granted in the competition as lifeline funds for women who successfully completed their training in entrepreneurship and technology, and achieved the highest commercial performance by putting up their products on sale on the project’s website. A more “inclusive” award process has been obtained by having a popular vote this year for the first time, which also increased the project’s public recognition. More than 51.000 votes have been cast in popular vote.

Women First In Entrepreneurship Award Ceremony was held in İstanbul in the attendance of Ercan Demirci, Deputy Under-secretary of the Ministry of National Education; Ali Rıza Altunel, General Director of Ministry of National Education Directorate General for Lifelong Learning; Dr. Hasan Süel, Chairman of the Board of Vodafone Turkey Foundation; and Aydın Kolat, Ankara Representative of Turkish Informatics Foundation.

Enhar Doğan from Denizli got the first place, Yasemin Akturan from Kocaeli got the second, and Ayşe Hacıalioğlu got the third place in the competition, while Ceren Kara from Trabzon won “Directorate General for Lifelong Learning Special Award”, and Hatice Çelik won “Vodafone Turkey Foundation Special Award”. Popular vote was won by Ayşe Şahinkaya from Kayseri.

A total amount of over 50.000 TL in lifeline support

Female trainees who received training between March-October 2017 in designated Public Education Centers within the scope of “Women First In Entrepreneurship” project in Adana, Kayseri, Denizli, Trabzon, Gaziantep Erzincan, Mersin, Muğla, Kocaeli, and Sivas have been evaluated in Women First In Entrepreneurship Competition, which is held for the second time. A jury consisting of representatives of the project partners evaluated applications to the competition, in which all women who had received training have participated with their hand-made products and sales on the project’s website. The participant’s pre-project status, the change achieved through the project and their post-project expectations are taken into account in applications, while the total number of posts and sales on the website and the total amount of sales are other criteria.

5 female entrepreneurs who won the competition are granted monetary awards. The winner is awarded 15.000 TL, followed by the first runner-up with 10.000 TL, second runner-up with 7.500 TL and two Jury’s Special Award winners with 3000 TL each. The top rated trainee on social media in the popular vote, which is held for the first time this year, won a 15.000 TL monetary award as a lifeline fund.

In his opening speech Ercan Demirci, Deputy Under-secretary of the Ministry of National Education said:

“As the Ministry of National Education, we are a big family. Our Directorate General for Lifelong Learning is working hard to meet the educational needs of our citizens. It cares about collaborations with civil society organizations, and has been implementing this project that aims to provide the lifeline fund that women need in order to realize their entrepreneurship potentials with two important CSOs for more than two years. Vodafone Turkey Foundation and Turkish Informatics Foundation are the architects of success for this project. 10.000 women were reached in 10 provinces in the first year. In the second year, we have reached 16.000 women in 10 provinces. Our aim for next year is to reach hundreds of thousands of women in 81 provinces. Turkish women have always been a part of social life. We are aware of the fact that women constitute life. We believe that women need to take place in life with their souls, abilities, their grace and kindness. We are trying to make up for our shortcomings on this matter through projects like these. We thank our partners for their commitment. Women deserve an even bigger appreciation. We are happy to have this honor alongside women.”

Ali Rıza Altunel, General Director of Ministry of National Education Directorate General for Lifelong Learning asserted:

“The meaningful collaboration with our partners continues. Our colleagues and trainees are the heroes of this competition. These heroes went beyond presenting their handcrafted products that they have made over the past year with a great devotion; they also have transformed their efforts into entrepreneurship. Our partners have also contributed to this process remarkably. I want to congratulate all women who have the courage to apply for this competition and achieved success. We aim to expand the scope of this competition to all provinces in Turkey. We hope to come together again with new heroes, new awards and new competitions in the ensuing period.”

Hasan Süel: “We have created an economic value of nearly 43 million TL in two years with female entrepreneurs.”

Hasan Süel, Chairman of the Board of Vodafone Turkey Foundation, pointed out that the economic development level of a country is in direct proportion to entrepreneurs it breeds and women’s contribution to economy, and stated:

“According to McKinsey report, full valorization of women’s potential will contribute 28 trillion dollars to world economy until 2025. Another research shows that 1 billion women around the world have the potential to join the workforce in 10 years. According to Turkish Statistical Institute, despite showing a significant peak in the last 10 years, women’s labor force participation is still 27,5%. At this point, we care deeply about encouraging women to become entrepreneurs, and about the presence of women’s labor force in the economy as entrepreneurs. And we believe in the importance of a public-private-CSO partnership in this direction. We had one purpose when we initiated ‘Women First In Entrepreneurship’ project two years ago with our dear valued project partners: to facilitate women’s full participation into economy through entrepreneurship; to train strong women who start their own business, and provide employment opportunities for others. The present situation shows us that we have done right by believing in women’s production and entrepreneurship potential, and that women can certainly be successful in business life as long as they are supported with constructive, rational instruments. With ‘Women First In Entrepreneurship’ project, we have created a 43 million TL worth of economic value by training more than 26.000 women in 20 provinces in the last two years. We are happy to present the awards of Women First In Entrepreneurship Competition, that we held in an effort to reveal the entrepreneurship potential of the women who participated in our project, and to support their plans for future, and to present an award to our trainees who achieved success in the popular vote that was cast this year for the first time. On behalf of Vodafone Turkey Foundation, I congratulate them, and thank them for showing Turkey the potential of female entrepreneurs.”

Aydın Kolat, Ankara Representative of Turkish Informatics Foundation, noted:

“Women First In Entrepreneurship project is one of the most important projects for TIF. In these days that we discuss the socio-economical effects of Industry 4.0, Society 5.0, and Digital Transformation In Industry, we, as a society, have come to an understanding that the most important factor that determines a society’s level of development and wealth is the efficient use of information and advanced technology. Today, it is a matter of common knowledge that individuals, societies, and even states, that can utilize advanced technology and right information, at the right time, in the right way will have the upper hand on the others. In order to carry out this transformation successfully, we, as TIF, are working effectively in all areas, from education to industry; from raising information literacy levels across the country, to increasing international academic recognition; from improving women employment, to raising the level of welfare in the country. We are proud to be a partner in Women First In Entrepreneurship project. The best part of such a committed project is to follow women’s progress in contributing to their family budgets by using current technologies to produce and sell goods. We congratulate all women who participated in the project for their self-confidence, congratulate women who won awards in the project, and hope that their success will continue.”

They set an example for other female entrepreneurs

The winner of Women First In Entrepreneurship Competition, Enhar Doğan, has turned towards handicrafts 2 years ago when her husband was diagnosed with renal failure, and following the impact of a tough organ transplantation process. Doğan makes leather bags and wallets, and has put up 162 posts on the project website. Yasemin Akturan, who came second in the competition, had started to make handicrafts and sell them in her inner circles to support her husband. Akturan is interested in fashion design, sewing and clothing, and has put up 215 posts on the project website. Ayşe Hacıalioğlu, who got the third place in the competition, is a child development student at Avrasya University. Hacıalioğlu has decided to improve her scented stone making hobby after seeing a demand in her circles. She produces various ornaments from key chains to picture frames, and has put up 67 posts on the project website. Total turnover of the three contestants are over 38.000 TL.

More than 26.000 women have been reached in 2 years

“Women First In Entrepreneurship” project is implemented with the objective to increase women’s participation in the economy and improve their entrepreneurship capabilities. More than 26.000 women have been trained in information and communication technologies, and entrepreneurship in 20 provinces in the last two years thanks to this project. Women who received the training can turn their handicrafts into income by putting their products up for sale on oncekadin.gov.tr, a website specially created for them. Nearly 32.000 posts have been put up, and 200.000 TL worth of sales have been made on the digital store. The project reached 10.000 women in the first year and created an economic value of more than 15 million TL. In the second year, 16.000 more women have been reached, and nearly 43 million TL worth of economic value has been created with more than 26.000 female entrepreneurs.