Facebook to help SMEs in Turkey by granting 7 Million Turkish Liras

ISTANBUL

Facebook announced on Aug. 17 that it launched a grant program of 7 million Turkish Liras (over $946,000) to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Istanbul.

Eligible SMEs that want to benefit from the financial support should apply until Aug. 26, it added.
The U.S. social media giant had recently announced a $100 million grant to help 30,000 thousand SMEs from more than 30 countries.

Aiming to support SMEs in their efforts to overcome difficulties and recover in the post-pandemic period, the grant support that consists of cash and ad credits Facebook will be providing will only be eligible for businesses in Istanbul. 
In the project, Facebook will be partnering with Deloitte and the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) women and youth branches.

Derya Matraş, Facebook’s regional director for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, said that COVID-19 is not just a public health crisis, but also an economic crisis that has affected SMEs the most. 

“We have listened to the problems small businesses in Turkey have been facing in this difficult and uncertain time and we have seen that 57 percent of these businesses expect cash flow to be a concern in the upcoming future,” she said.
Facebook will also provide training, digitalization assistance and improved social connection infrastructure to the small and medium-sized businesses, said Matraş.

“On top of that, we have also partnered with the Trade Ministry, TOBB and leading marketplaces in Turkey to create the Marketplace Supports page. As Facebook, we will continue working to find new ways so that people can continue supporting businesses in their communities,” she added.

All Istanbul-based businesses, which are employing between two and 50 people and have been active within the last 12 months, will be eligible to apply to benefit from the project.