About The Project

The European Union funded FOSTER II – Empowering the Private Sector to Foster Social and Economic Cohesion in Türkiye aims to contribute to the empowerment of the private sector in Türkiye to increase the formal employment of Turkish citizens and foster social and economic cohesion of foreigners under temporary or international protection, and increase the resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the provinces where the project is implemented.

The Project targets SMEs by improving their conditions for creating and retaining formal employment through enhanced access to finance and by strengthening their position as employers.

PROGRAMME DONOR	EUROPEAN UNION
IMPLEMENTING PARTNER (CONTRACTING AUTHORITY)	KfW Development Bank
PROJECT EXECUTING AGENCY	KOSGEB
IMPLEMENTATION CONSULTANT	FRANKFURT SCHOOL OF FINANCE & MANAGEMENT
PROJECT END DATE	NOVEMBER 30, 2027
TOTAL BUDGET	EUR 66.800.000
IMPLEMENTATION PROVINCES	Ankara, Adana, Adıyaman, Batman, Bursa, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Hatay, İstanbul, İzmir, Kahramanmaraş, Kayseri, Kilis, Kocaeli, Konya, Mardin, Malatya, Mersin, Osmaniye ve Şanlıurfa

PROJECT BENEFICIARIES

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the project provinces,
Foreigners under temporary or international protection and Turkish citizens that are unemployed, or are employed in informal jobs in the project provinces,
Foreigners under temporary or international protection and Turkish citizens who are formally employed by the SMEs with a regular income in project provinces.

PROJECT COMPONENTS

Component I – Interest/Profit Share Subsidy up to EUR 18 Million

Within the scope of the Employment Committed SME Finance Support Programme, a total of 18 million Euros of interest/profit share subsidy will be provided to SMEs. Through the Subsidy Mechanism, it is aimed to create formal employment for unemployed or informally employed Turkish citizens and foreigners under temporary or international protection in order to integrate them into economic life; and to retain employment.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Employment Commitment within the Project	Formal employment positions will be created or retained for Turkish citizens and foreigners under temporary or international protection (at least 50% being ESSN beneficiaries or other foreigners).
Number of Beneficiary SMEs	At least 554 SMEs

Programme II – Grant Support up to EUR 43 Million

SMEs operating in 20 provinces where the project is implemented will be supported. Through this support, formal employment will be created or retained for Turkish citizens and foreigners under temporary or international protection.
Through the Employment Committed SME Support Programme, EUR 43 million grant support will be provided to SMEs.

EXPECTED RESULTS

Employment Commitment within the Project	Formal employment positions will be created or retained for Turkish citizens and foreigners under temporary or international protection (at least 50% being ESSN beneficiaries or other foreigners).
Number of Beneficiary SMEs	At least 875 SMEs

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