Small
and Medium Enterprise Development in
Southeast Anatolia (GAP-GIDEM)
Budget: Euro
7,590,000 Euro
Timeline: May
2002 - November 2007
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Opening
of a woman-owned enterprise: GAP-GIDEM
helped Ms. Perihan Bozdat, a woman entrepreneur
in Sanliurfa to establish Peri Cosmetics,
one of the very few woman-owned enterprises
in the GAP region.
Pictured are Ms. Bozdag and Ovunc Birecik
(GIDEM expert in Sanliurfa) |
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What is the situation?
Throughout Turkey, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)
face many difficulties - and specifically in Southeastern
Anatolia, which is regarded as Turkey's least-developed region.
Problems faced by small and medium enterprises in this region
include:
- Limited opportunities
for capital accumulation
- Limited capacity
for associational activity, management and women entrepreneurs
- Lack of links to
and information about internal and external markets
Limited capital accumulation
is one of the key issues hindering economic development by
small and medium enterprises in southeastern Anatolia. Opportunities
for external financing are limited. Turkey's bond and capital
markets are not yet sufficiently mature to be a realistic
option for SMEs. This means that the only formal option for
external financing is bank loans. However, due to macro-economic
conditions and a series of crises in the banking sector, opportunities
for SMEs to obtain commercial loans at affordable interest
rates are very limited. Severe interest rate fluctuations
experienced in previous economic bank crises have also made
many entrepreneurs wary of seeking loans.
The Government's ability
to provide direct support to companies through incentives
or subsidized credits is limited to some extent by international
agreements such as the WTO agreement, and by the budgetary
constraints. Public banks do still extend subsidized loans
to SMEs; however the size of these loans is quite limited.
Furthermore, the uptake of these loans by SMEs in southeastern
Anatolia remains minimal due to strict collateral requirements.
Centralized application of incentive schemes are a further
deterrent in that such schemes make little differentiation
between the least and less developed regions.
Limited capacity.
SMEs in southeastern Anatolia are additionally hindered by
their limited capacity in terms of entrepreneurship, operational
and financial management. This places them at a disadvantage
compared with similar sized businesses in the more prosperous
western regions of Turkey. Associational activity is relatively
weak among the SME community in southeastern Anatolia and
networking required for access to both markets and capital
is very limited. Entrepreneurship among women is severely
limited, and virtually non-existent across many parts of the
region.
Limited exploitation
of potential internal and external markets. While Southeastern
Anatolia has strong trade potential with neighboring countries
(Syria, Iraq) the prevailing external trade policy environment
does not necessarily prioritize the Southeastern Anatolian
enterprises for external trade promotion. Actual opportunities
for external trade are reduced by insufficient industrial
infrastructure and instable business environment in the Middle
East.
Access of SMEs from
southeastern Anatolia to other foreign markets is restricted
because manufacturing practices are not fully aligned to EU
or other international standards. Most SME sector policies
and practices in the region do not yet incorporate environmental
concerns.
What is our mission?
The long-term vision is to improve the competitiveness of
southeastern Anatolia in national and international markets.
Our mission with the GIDEM programme is to improve the entrepreneurial,
operational and managerial capacities of existing entrepreneurs,
small, medium and micro-enterprises by providing information,
training and advisory services.
How are we doing
this?
UNDP has established GIDEM offices in the four provincial
capitals of the GAP region: Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Mardin and
Sanliurfa. In addition, we have set up a central project coordination
and management unit at the headquarters of our Turkish counterpart,
the GAP Regional Development Administration. (GAP - in English,
the Southeast Anatolia Project, started in 1977, with the
support of UNDP).
The local GIDEM offices
provide a wide range of business development services including
training, information services and consultancy.
GIDEM offices can also develop and implement larger-scale
projects called "opportunity windows".
Training services are
currently provided free of charge and no reservation is needed.
They are available as planned activities, some of which can
also be provided on demand.
Topics covered by GIDEM training services include:
- Trade and Investment
- Management
- New trends in business
- Quality, standards
and environment
- Sector-specific capacity
improvement
Information services
are also provided free of charge by GIDEM offices. Some constitute
planned information - such as publications on sectoral or
foreign market analyses.
Other information services
are provided on-demand on a daily basis. Entrepreneurs and
businessmen can consult GIDEM offices for information on various
aspects of business. If the information requested is available,
it will be provided instantly. Otherwise GIDEM experts will
carry out whatever research is necessary and pass it on to
the client as soon as possible.
Consultancy services
are provided by GIDEM offices on-demand. Consultancy services
complement GIDEM's information services and usually include
more in-depth analysis. These services can include preparation
of pre-feasibility studies and business plans. Since consultancy
services are more time-consuming GIDEM experts are more selective
in their provision and work with clients who can offer a firm
commitment.
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Opportunity
Window: Inauguration of the Adiyaman Textile
and Clothing Vocational Training Centre, one
of the opportunity windows developed by GIDEM.
Pictured are Umut Oran (president of Association
of Turkish Apparel Manufacturers), Sarah Poole
(DRR of UNDP CO Turkey), Hikmet Tan (Governor
of Adiyaman) and Muammer Yasar Ozgul (President
of GAP RDA) |
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Opportunity Windows
are larger-scale projects which GIDEM offices are also able
to develop and implement. An "Opportunity Window"
can be defined as creating special clusters of GIDEM services
geared towards meeting the specific needs of local SMEs by
achieving best practices in their region.
Opportunity Windows generally involve the active participation
of local communities including business associations, universities
etc.
GIDEM offices have so far developed the following Opportunity
Windows:
- Textile Training
Centre (Adiyaman)
- Development of agro-based
industries - garlic" (Adiyaman),
- Development of Women
Entrepreneurship (Diyarbakir)
- Dicle University
Entrepreneurship Center (Diyarbakir)
- Development of House
Wine Sector (Mardin)
- Development of Silver
Handcrafting Sector (Mardin)
- Development of agro-based
industries - aromatic plants (Sanliurfa)
- Development of Organic
Agriculture (Sanliurfa)
How will Turkey benefit?
By improving the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises
in southeastern Anatolia, GIDEM will help to alleviate regional
disparities in Turkey.
By promoting the investment
opportunities in the region and facilitating investments through
the development of feasibility studies and business plans,
GIDEM will help create new jobs and thus contribute to poverty
reduction.
Who are our partners?
GAP-GIDEM Project is financed by the European Commission (EC),
and executed by UNDP in coordination with GAP Regional Development
Administration (GAP RDA).
CONTACT INFORMATION:
GIDEM has its own website,
in Turkish and English at www.gidem.org
Yesim Oruc
Programme Manager, UNDP
Tel: (90-312) 454 1130
E-mail: yesim.oruc@undp.org
Berna Bayazit
Programme Associate, UNDP
Tel: (90-312) 454 1126
E-mail: berna.bayazit@undp.org
Meral Sayin
Chief Technical Advisor
Tel: (90-312) 440 5025
E-mail: msayin@gidem.org
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