Turkey and the EU train 10,000 women entrepreneurs

The European Union and Turkey have just concluded a €4.5 million project, training over 10,000 women to set up their own businesses. Women’s Entrepreneurship Support (WES) Project promoted women’s entrepreneurship by providing 6,291 women with training and 2,755 women with consultancy services. As of March 2009, two years after the projects launch, 11,000 certificates were awarded to the trainees. WES was funded by the European Commission and implemented by the Turkish Union of Tradesmen and Craftsmen (TESK) and the Unions of Chambers of Tradesmen and Craftsmen (ESOBs) in 25 Turkish provinces.

“The numbers are important, but the fact that our women have obtained self confidence in their ability is even more significant,” said TESK Chairman Bendevi Palandöken at the closing ceremony on Thursday 9 April. Turkey’s Chief Negotiator for the EU, Egemen Bağış and Tibor Varadi, the Deputy Head of Mission of the European Commission Delegation to Turkey also attended the closing ceremony of the project.

Although women make up half of Turkey’s population, only about a quarter of the female workforce is in employment compared to 55 percent in EU countries. The level of self employment among women is about 14 percent according to the figures in 2006, against 20-25 percent in the EU.

More about the project can be found at WES Project web site.