A Mentor Guiding the Way in the Darkness of the Unknown
Social Entrepreneurship, Empowerment and Cohesion Project Notes || March 2024
Waiting in the Darkness of the Unknown
Taking a step towards that venture we have always dreamed of is not easy. New ventures are full of unknowns and fears. The risks are so great that they can keep us from taking the step. We wait for a sign to guide us through the darkness of the unknown.
As we try to gather the courage to step forward, we need the wisdom of someone who has walked the same path before. We need a guide or mentor who can offer confidence, advice, training or experience.
The guide can be an experienced business person, a knowledgeable trainer or an inspirational person. He or she encourages our vision, sees our strengths and talents and supports us.
As SEECO Project, we organize training activities, business plan workshops with mentors, capacity building activities with our beneficiaries who are waiting for support to take the first step in 11 cities. We focus on the impact of training and mentoring activities and how informing and educating communities can contribute to social change. We take on the role of guidance through our work for the adoption and expansion of social entrepreneurship culture in Anatolia.
Entrepreneurs Who See Their Own Power
When things go wrong in our lives, we often tend to look for the cause outside. We think that we are alone, that we are not understood, that we are not supported, that our efforts are in vain.
However, we are the responsible and the creator of our lives. What we need to do is to develop insight by learning from our own experiences, mistakes and successes.
Insight is the ability to recognize oneself. For us, it is 'seeing your own power'.
Only people who know themselves can have the courage to take responsibility and create change. The development of social entrepreneurship in Anatolia will only be possible with more people who know themselves and realize the power they have.
Who are the Guides Outside?
All outside guides are helpers who guide us to see our own power. Because they are the ones who can see even the potentials that a person has not yet realized before them.
Educational Institutions: At certain periods of our lives, educational institutions play the role of guidance while imparting knowledge and skills. Professors, teachers and counselors provide guidance to their students while sharing knowledge in their respective fields. Educators help people discover their potential, set their goals and move forward on the path to success.
Mentors: Especially in the world of entrepreneurship, guidance from a mentor accelerates an entrepreneur's career development. With 'venture mentoring', more experienced people (mentors) provide guidance by sharing their experience and knowledge with relatively less experienced people (mentees).
Community Leaders and Idols: Leaders, activists or artists that we see as role models in our society can also be mentors at times. By being inspired by their lives and achievements, we can be motivated in our own journey and move towards making a greater impact.
Mentoring for Social Impact
The encounter with a guide/mentor is one of the turning points of a social entrepreneur's journey. SEECO Project contributes to the personal and professional development of the beneficiaries through its training activities, increases their motivation, enables them to expand their cooperation networks and move forward more effectively in their entrepreneurial journey.
SEECO Project's training activities use a student-centered learning model. In addition to topics such as resilience, raising awareness in the family, social entrepreneurship, presentation skills, communication and problem solving, there are differentiated trainings according to the incubation and acceleration programs.
In the incubation program, marketing and e-commerce, financial management, communication and problem solving, market research, sales, management trainings are provided; while in the acceleration program, beneficiaries are supported with training such as financial management and investment decisions, growth plan and digitalization, customer segment and value proposition, branding.
"If I list the contributions of the project, coaching and mentoring come first, then grants. Even if I didn't get a grant, I would continue my work, I would continue somehow. I have gained people. I gained very good people who guided me, I am leaving with my saddlebags full." Gülsüm Özerol
"I have been doing this job for 8 years and yet I have learned so many steps that I didn't know would take me forward. Now I know what I need to do and what steps I need to take." Zübeyde Akbaş
"There were many things we didn't know, for example I had no idea what a business plan was. They helped us a lot after the class, we could easily reach them for any questions and problems." Sümeyye Erdem
"Our teachers helped us with everything from sales and marketing, to how to find customers when we export, to how to treat our staff. We improved ourselves a lot." Hatice Oğur
"The feeling of family and someone guiding you is a bigger benefit than the grant. You get the money somehow, but you don't always have people standing by your side, supporting you, guiding you in the right direction, and when you do, you don't want to leave." Gülsüm Özerol
What Happened in the Field in March?
394 entrepreneurs in Mardin, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Gaziantep, Adıyaman and Kilis provinces were awarded grants.
The Incubation and Acceleration Support Program to be implemented in Adana and Mersin was introduced by Çukurova Development Agency.
The deadline to apply for the Grant Program for entrepreneurs in Adana and Mersin who want to start or expand their dream business is April 26. Application link.
Following the first program in Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır, where 248 people were awarded grants, applications for the 2nd cycle have started. The deadline for acceleration and incubation support is April 15. Application link.
Agreement signed for the production of healthy peanuts in Osmaniye. The peanut production facility, which is free of mold and toxins, aims to create employment for disadvantaged groups, focusing on the employment of women in shelter camps.
Following the Social Entrepreneurship Centers in İslâhiye and Nurdağı, a protocol was signed between Gaziantep Islamic Science and Technology University and İpekyolu Development Agency for the establishment of a Social Entrepreneurship Center.
The Nurdağı Social Entrepreneurship Center continues to provide learning environments and opportunities for social interaction for young people living in the region. The works of students preparing for Fine Arts were exhibited at the center.
The first textile order was received at Islahiye Textile Workshop, which was established to strengthen the local and regional economy by creating employment in the earthquake region. The 50 thousand surgical gowns prepared will be exported to England. The facility supports both the empowerment of women and the post-earthquake economic recovery process with the products it exports and will export from Islahiye to abroad.
As the project activities continue to accelerate, our project has passed the EU Delegation to Turkey and the World Bank audit processes this month. As a team, we held meetings to share lessons learned, foreseen risks and solutions to improve the project, and met with our stakeholders in the field.
We believe that entrepreneur candidates who want to benefit their environment and add value to life will turn into social heroes when their unique skills shine through. As SEECO Project, we continue to support all our beneficiaries on their journey to become social heroes through training and mentoring.