World Bank Approves $600 million for Turkey to Revive Micro Enterprises in Earthquake-Hit Areas
Business
The aim of the Turkey Small Industrial Estates Reconstruction and Regional Economic Recovery Project is to help revitalize economic activity in four of the 11 provinces that were badly impacted by the earthquakes.
The project will finance the establishment of seven small industrial estates (SIEs) that will be home to 1,600 micro enterprises that produce crafts and goods or provide services.
The new SIEs will also be designed for resilience against future earthquakes, other natural disasters, and adverse impacts of climate change, and will include energy and water efficiency measures. The SIEs will generate solar energy to power the micro businesses they host, with an estimated 147,030 metric tons per year of carbon emissions expected to be reduced.
About 15% of Turkey’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are located in the earthquake-affected provinces and many of them are based in industrial estates, which offer a range of facilities and services to MSMEs, such as affordable spaces for their operations, shared resources, infrastructure such as roads and transportation, utilities as well as access to credit.
The Project follows the Post-Earthquake MSME Recovery Project, which provided financing to cover urgent operating expenses of MSMEs in the earthquake-affected areas.