WE STRIVE FOR WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT IN SOCIETY

We envision a world where women play an active role in all decision-making processes, freely expressing their existence

KAGİDER was established 21 years ago by 37 entrepreneurial women who personally encountered the challenges faced by women in entrepreneurship and sought to alter this landscape. Since the day of our foundation, we have dedicated ourselves to promoting women’s entrepreneurship. Simultaneously, we are committed to empowering women in society, acknowledging that the challenges encountered by women entrepreneurs stem from the broader inequalities and injustices faced by women in all spheres. Our goal is to cultivate a world where women actively participate in all decision-making processes, freely producing and expressing their existence. With the aim of achieving this objective, we persistently carry out projects, training, and mentoring activities without interruption.

For women who are on the verge of entering professional life, whether university students or graduates, we have the “Women Leaders of the Future” project, which we have been organizing in collaboration with Sanofi Türkiye for 13 years. In this context, we orchestrate a comprehensive training and mentoring program designed to empower young women who face challenges in accessing equal opportunities in the business world. The number of graduates from this project, aimed at fostering women’s employment, has surpassed 1,700.

By fostering a close connection with university students, we persist in our journey with the vibrant energy and vision of young people. We are currently actively engaged in the development of exciting new projects focused on raising awareness of gender equality among young people aged 18-25. Simultaneously, these initiatives aim to foster youth productivity and encourage the development of entrepreneurial activities. Concurrently, we persist in providing training for women who are at the early stages of their journey or already engaged in professional life, aspiring entrepreneurs, or embarking on new entrepreneurial endeavours.

Additionally, we offer sector- focused entrepreneur development programs and training sessions designed for women entrepreneurs looking to advance their ventures. We place significant emphasis on the digitalization of women entrepreneurs. We introduced the digital barometer, a tool that gauges the digital maturity of women entrepreneurs in various digital areas. This self-assessment survey allows for a comparison of the business’s digital maturity level with regional and sectoral benchmarks in Türkiye. Digitalization will provide entrepreneurs with a competitive advantage in terms of business growth and competition.

Through our technology and digitalization training committee, we aim to expedite the digitalization efforts of women entrepreneurs. Simultaneously, we strive to encourage more women to venture into entrepreneurship in the technology sector. Another crucial aspect is to facilitate women entrepreneurs’ access to finance. We emphasize the significance of providing training to women entrepreneurs on evaluating and efficiently utilizing their existing resources, as well as fostering financial awareness. In this context, our Finance and Trade Committee will persist in organizing training and mentoring activities to assist businesses in mastering financial information and raising awareness.

Simultaneously, we will keep developing new projects aimed at facilitating women entrepreneurs’ access to financial resources. We will establish collaborations with various financial institutions to provide valuable information and support to women entrepreneurs. In addition to our ongoing training and mentoring activities, we will persist in the development of projects in collaboration with various organizations. Following the earthquake disaster that profoundly affected our entire country in 2023, KAGİDER planted the first seeds to support women and women entrepreneurs in the earthquake-affected regions in their recovery efforts.

In 2024, we will implement projects in partnership with private sector stakeholders in both Hatay and Kahramanmaraş provinces. These initiatives aim to empower women, promote entrepreneurship, and help women-owned businesses rebuild after the earthquake. We have initiated a new international project with a focus on the green transformation of women entrepreneurs in the Balkans and Türkiye. In 2024, various training sessions and focus groups will be conducted as part of our project. Another crucial topic on our agenda for the next 20 years is “Sustainability and Green Business”.

We envision a world where women play an active role in all decision-making processes, freely expressing their existence, and we are dedicated to creating this reality. Implementing green business principles will be our priority in achieving this goal. We aim to focus on Anatolia more in the upcoming period. We will listen to the future expectations of young people and women entrepreneurs residing in Anatolian provinces and establish closer connections with them. We will collaborate with women entrepreneurs’ associations in the seven regions of Türkiye. By organizing workshops in these regions and collaborating with local governments, we aim to empower women at the local level. We will also enhance the international visibility of KAGİDER.

We have established robust collaborations in the United States and Europe. We will increase our activity in the European Union and fortify KAGİDER’s presence in African markets through strategic partnerships.