Young, but Business Savvy - Microcredit in Turkey

Recently, UNDP has created a revolutionary micro credit program for Turkey’s youth, in partnership with the Turkish Economic Bank (TEB) and the Young Managers and Businessmen’s Association (GYİAD). The program, which will help around 500 18-35 year olds create new businesses, takes a multifaceted approach to business entrepreneurship by providing not only initial funding but also business education, vocational training, and consulting services to new companies.

The president of GYİAD, Pınar Eczacıbaşı, thanked UNDP for its efforts:

I believe that we are cooperating with the best partners in this field both in Turkey and on an international level and that we are creating a major opening for Turkey’s young population. I believe that the Micro Credit Project that was initiated in order to encourage the youth into production and entrepreneurship will be successful.

This project continues the microfinance theme, which was established in 2005 with the UN's International Year of Microcredit. UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis pledged support for Turkey's push for youth entrepreneurship, an innovative project that will provide new opportunities for young professionals to participate in the economy.

Empowering female enterprise in Kenya

Experts argue that women are an essential yet untapped resource in fostering sustainable development. This advice seldom translates into action – that is until now.

Today, Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki launched a Sh5 billion funding partnership between Equity Bank in Kenya and the UNDP. This Women’s Fund will benefit more than 2,000 women entrepreneurs in the Small and Micro Enterprise sector, traditionally neglected and underfunded.

These funds were allocated in response to a household survey indicating that 61% of household entrepreneurs in Kenya are women. By providing loans to these women, the government hopes to spur community based and women driven economic growth.

To boost the competitiveness of female enterprise and help women identify new markets for their products the UNDP will offer women focused trainings. “The target is to increase the number of businesses owned and managed by women making them globally competitive,” says Elizabeth Lwanga of UNDP.

Microfinance in Malawi

Lack of credit is possibly the biggest challenge for small enterprises attempting to survive in markets of impoverished nations. To respond to this, the UNDP has set up several microfinance programs in the developing world, to be managed and implemented by each individual country office.

Yesterday, the Government of Malawi and the UN agreed upon a microfinancing project to increase access to financial services for low income population groups.

In Malawi, only 3% of the population has access to saving services while a marginal 1% access credit. Insurance services are virtually absent, and the percentage of poor families with access to any financial services in rural areas is even lower.

The UNDP's newly approved microfinance project will hopefully respond to these problems by providing basic services, such as loans, savings, payment services, money transfers and insurance to poor and vulnerable people in Malawi. The UNDP and the UN Capital Development Fund will each contribute 2 million dollars to the project, which will run from 2007-2011.