Company: Halkbank, Istanbul, Turkey
Nomination Submitted by: Business Awards Consulting
Company Description: Halkbank has become one of the steadily growing, well-established, pioneering and respected brands of emerging Turkey, which established in 1938 to support tradesmen, SMEs and to accelerate permanent economic development. Pioneering the development of the Turkish banking sector for 83 years, Halkbank continues its mission of supporting the real sector
Nomination Category: Product & Service Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best New Product or Service of the Year - Consumer Products
 Nomination Title: Halkbank Women Entrepreneurship Support Packages
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes, explaining the features, functions, benefits, and results to date of the nominated product or service, OR written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video. If you are submitting written answers to the questions, please provide them in the appropriate spaces below:
- If you are nominating a brand-new product or service, state the date on which it was released. If you are nominating a new version of an existing product or service, state the date on which the update was released:
Halkbank Women Entrepreneurship Support Packages are firstly launched on Women’s Day in 2021. The product is developed in 2022.
- Describe the features, functions, and benefits of the nominated product or service (up to 350 words):
Total 319 words used.
According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report, Turkey ranks 3rd in overall entrepreneurship activity in its area. However, when it comes to women's workforce participation and women entrepreneurship, Turkey lags far behind global levels. While the global average of women entrepreneurship stands at around 30%, in Turkey it is only around 11%. According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap 2022 Report, Turkey ranks 134th out of 146 countries in terms of women's economic participation and is at the bottom in its region.
There is a similar situation in women's employment. The employment rate of women is less than half of that of men. In Turkey, only one-third (35%) of women participate in the workforce.
Established in 1938 with the mission of supporting the entire society, including artisans and SMEs, Halkbank has emerged as one of Turkey's longstanding and reputable brands, leading the development of both the banking sector and the country's economy. With 85 years of history, Operating with the vision of "People First, Then the Bank," Halkbank has embraced the mission of being "The Bank of Producing Women," recognizing the economic freedom of women and the value they bring to the economy.
Halkbank, with its vision of being "The Bank of Producing Women," has achieved a first in the banking sector by establishing the first specialized banking unit exclusively for women, called the "Women Entrepreneur Department." This department is the first and only banking unit in Turkey to develop specialized products and services for women entrepreneurs.
By bringing together all its activities aimed at producing women under one umbrella, Halkbank aims to:
- Encourage women entrepreneurs to increase their workforce participation and entrepreneurship.
- Support women entrepreneurs financially by providing advantageous services throughout the entire financial process.
Contribute to the increased presence of women in the economy, leading to improved social welfare, overcoming gender inequality, and making a direct contribution to the Turkish economy.
- Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 190 words used.
Halkbank has a workforce where 45% are women. With this percentage, Halkbank has exceeded the average female employee ratio in Turkey, which is 30%.
In addition to all these activities, Halkbank stands out from its industry peers by implementing positive discrimination in the procurement of products and services to empower women. In the bank's procurement agreements and purchasing processes, priority is given to women entrepreneurs, women-owned SMEs, women artisans, and women cooperatives. This ensures the visibility and prominence of women who strive to sustain their ventures.
Due to word limitations, it was not possible to cover all the initiatives implemented by Halkbank to empower women and support women entrepreneurship in Turkey in this form. Therefore, additional files have been prepared and submitted for the esteemed jury members' review:
Apx-1: Sunum: Halkbank Women Entrepreneurship Support Details
Apx2: Video: Halkbank Women Entrepreneurship Commercial-2023
https://youtu.be/4ZKLtTC1kDc
Apx3: Video: Halkbank Women Entrepreneurship Commercial-2022
https://youtu.be/9xme659k7bs
Apx4: Video: Halkbank Producing Women Meetings
https://youtu.be/6pFukMlGYCc
Apx5:Video: Producing Women Competition
https://youtu.be/7EG0BYCLzJs
Apx6: Video: Halkbank Women Entrepreneur Success Stories
https://youtu.be/u_kh-LofSok
Apx7: Video: Halkbank Producing Women Academy Trailer
https://youtu.be/fU6ESbk1Alo
- Outline the market performance, critical reception, and customer satisfaction with the product or service to date. State monetary or unit sales figures to date, if possible, and how they compare to expectations or past performance. Provide links to laudatory product or service reviews. Include some customer testimonials, if applicable. (up to 350 words):
Total 350 words used.
Halkbank implemented Special Financial Support and Benefits for Women Entrepreneurs. In 2021, Halkbank became the first bank to design special support packages for women cooperatives. Furthermore, on International Women's Day 2022, Halkbank launched the Paraf "Producing Women" Credit Card.
-Since its establishment immediately after International Women's Day in March 2021, the women entrepreneur department has provided over 44 billion TRY in credit support to more than 195,000 women entrepreneurs.
-"Digital Credit Package for Women Entrepreneurs" was designed to facilitate women's access to credit. Women were able to apply for credit through Halkbank Digital Credit Platform without need to visit branches. Over 12,000 women entrepreneurs have been provided with 635 million TRY in credit support.
-"Women Cooperative Support Package" which was introduced for the first time in the Turkish banking sector, has provided credit support of over 5 million TRY to 55 women cooperatives facing difficulties in accessing finance.
-The credits used to repay business debts, increase production capacity, invest in new equipment, and develop products contributed to the development of entrepreneurship in Turkey. Despite the challenging economic conditions due to the pandemic and conflicts in Europe, 16.25% of women entrepreneurs who used credit have seen an improvement in their turnover.
With the awareness that financial support alone is not sufficient for women's participation in workforce, Halkbank expanded its activities for women entrepreneurs:
In 2021, Halkbank initiated "Producing Women Meetings" aimed to inspire and encourage women by sharing the success stories, executed in seven regions of Turkey, reaching approximately 250,000 women.
-In 2022, Halkbank continued its support by launching "Producing Women Competition" and the "Producing Women Academy." These initiatives were designed to provide ongoing support and opportunities for women entrepreneurs to showcase their talents and enhance their skills.
-"Producing Women Competition" received applications from 2,494 women entrepreneurs, and a total of 1.5 million TRY was distributed as awards to the winners. In the 2023 Halkbank Producing Women Competition, 6,256 women entrepreneurs applied. Along with a total cash prize of 3,150,000 TRY, in-kind prizes will also be awarded to winning women entrepreneurs.
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