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Making Turkish Enterprises Competitive, Firm by Firm
Tunya Celasin, Sr. Communications Officer in the Turkey
Office, offers this story.
                                                                  Photo Gallery
ALTES has been in business for more than 30 years
producing aluminum, installing siding and windows across
Turkey. Kenan Eser started the company in 1976, building
windows with a partner. He says a recent loan targeted to
businesses like his helped the company expand production
and hire more workers—even in the midst of a worldwide
recession. Today, 150 workers produce and install 100,000
square meters of aluminum a year. Exports are up.

"Our production capacity grew after we expanded our work          Related Links
space and workforce thanks to the loans we were provided,
which was not easy to get a couple of years back. Today, we       Access to Finance for Small and
                                                                  Medium Enterprises Project
have become a big exporter of aluminium."
                                                                  Additional Financing for the Access to
ALTES's bank loan is supported by a World Bank program            Finance for Small and Medium
which gives Turkish banks access to medium to long term           Enterprises Project
funds so they can in turn lend to small and medium size           Second Additional Financing for the
companies and allow them to be more competitive.                  Access to Finance for Small and
                                                                  Medium Enterprises Project
Many small and medium-size firms are lining up to apply for
                                                                  Halk Bank
these lines of credit. Even though they make up 99 percent of
all companies and provide 80 percent of jobs, small and           Industrial Development Bank of Turkey
medium size companies had a hard time getting credit in the       (TSKB)
aftermath of the financial crisis. Thanks to the program, which   World Bank in Turkey
started in 2007 with $700 million and was repeated in 2010
with $500 million, more than 800 companies have gained access     to stable and longer term funding.

                        Up north in Kastamonu province, 64 year old Saim Gülcan's story confirms that
                        small and medium size companies are Turkey's engine for growth. Carving
                        spoons from boxwood as a child, Mr. Gülcan developed his skill and started a
                        tiny business back in 1978. Today, GÜLCAN Furniture produces home and
                        hotel furniture for five thousand clients across the country.

                        Mr. Gülcan received a loan from Halkbank to open a new production facility as
                        soon as possible instead of waiting to have enough company money to do so.
Kenan Eser
                                                 "The bank we have been working with told us: 'Let's
                                                 lend you some money so that you can build your
                                                 factory more quickly and start operation earlier.' Before
                                                 then, we used to operate in an industrial factory of
                                                 7,500m2, which meant that we had to select 5,000
                                                 customers out of 20,000 potential customers. We had to
                                                 be selective because we could not finish jobs in time."

                        Saim Gülcan                He continues: "Today we are in a four-story 28,800
                                                   square meter facility, and we are able to produce for
customers in the city, in other cities, and even abroad. Our number of customers increased drastically.
We hope to become a global brand in the longer run."

Halkbank, TSKB, Ziraatbank, Vakıfbank and TKB are intermediary banks making loans available to
small and medium size companies—thanks to the program.

Promoting the development of small and medium size companies is crucial. They are the backbone of
the Turkish economy. They foster entrepreneurship, competition and innovation. They reduce
unemployment, raise productivity, competitiveness and help Turkey's economy grow.
Through the loans, companies gain access to competitively priced capital to strengthen their long-term
business opportunities, which can be especially helpful during a crisis, such as in 2008-2009. Since
2007 a large segment of the Turkish economy has used these loans and the credit lines reached most
parts of Turkey, with an emphasis on underserved areas in East and Central regions.

The credit lines are estimated to have created more than 9,300 jobs. This is great news in the aftermath
of the global economic crisis when creating more and better jobs is Turkey's most important economic
and social challenge.