What We Need is 'To Be a Community'
Social Entrepreneurship, Empowerment and Cohesion Project Notes || February, 2025
In our culture, being a community involves a strong social bond and belonging at all levels, from villages to cities, from neighborhoods to families. Being part of a community involves achieving many things together, change and transformation that we cannot cope with alone.
In Anatolia, the consciousness of being a community is nourished by human values. Our ancestors reminded us of the importance of solidarity in being a community with many sayings such as “Two heads are better than one”, “Strength comes from unity”, “Unity is solidarity”.
Supporting each other in difficult times within the community stems from our culture of solidarity, welcoming and sharing people we know or do not know stems from our understanding of hospitality, making decisions with structures such as village chambers, divans, elderly councils, and our need to act with common sense.
The Need of Being Community in Our Culture
'As a community', we satisfy our basic needs. We want to feel safe, with the need to be protected both physically and socially. Equitable social structures that contribute to maintaining a fair order within the community, such as the cultivation of the fields in cooperation, joint assistance at weddings or funerals, and the Ahi organization in trade, have strengthened economic solidarity.
Rituals such as henna nights, soldier farewells and condolence visits are emotional support mechanisms that ensure that we do not feel alone in the community. Relationships such as the elderly passing on their life experiences to the young and the master-apprentice relationship ensure the preservation of knowledge and the sharing of experience. When people feel that they belong to a community, they feel more meaningful and powerful.
This month in the SEECO Project, we took a new step to become a community. We are starting a new journey with the community we have created for our successful entrepreneurs to come together to create synergy, develop their capacities and be inspired by each other. We are developing our business network by establishing a strong bond with our common values and solidarity.
What Happened on the Field in February?
The results of the Acceleration Support Program (2nd Call), which was launched to increase the capacity of existing startups in Adana and Mersin, have been announced. Out of 579 applications, 208 were supported.
In Gaziantep, Adıyaman and Kilis, the results of the Call for Grants (4th Call) for cooperatives were announced. 8 of the 13 cooperatives that applied in the region are supported.
81 mentoring sessions were provided to 2nd Cycle beneficiaries in Mardin. For Cycle 2 and 3 beneficiaries, grant payment processes are ongoing.
Social Entrepreneurship Centers and Livelihood Facilities
Our centers, which started operations in February, are launching projects for social entrepreneurship and regional development.Of the 94 projects for which contracts were signed, 25 are now operational.
One More Step to Healthy Living: Gluten-Free Products Project
The project, of which Mardin Artuklu University is the beneficiary, aims to increase access to gluten-free products, produce food alternatives for celiac patients, raise awareness and support local producers by creating a production infrastructure and organizing trainings for entrepreneurs.
Dicle Center for Supporting Innovative Young Initiatives and Social Entrepreneurship
The project, of which Dicle University is a beneficiary, enables young people to turn their innovative ideas into reality. With the support of academics from the Faculty of Engineering, courses and seminars to be given by experienced and expert trainers, initiatives that bring technology and social impact together are supported.
Skillful Hands, New Hopes Project
Birecik District Directorate of National Education is the beneficiary of the project, which aims to increase employment by strengthening vocational education and combines the master-apprentice relationship with modern techniques. The physical infrastructure of the furniture department of Hacı Nihat Sözmen Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School is being strengthened. With the activation of the workshop, 100 women and 100 young men in Birecik district will have the opportunity to establish their own social enterprises in the furniture sector and create sustainable livelihoods.
Şanlıurfa Social Entrepreneurship Center
The center, of which Şanlıurfa Governorship is a beneficiary, supports projects that generate social benefit by encouraging social entrepreneurship. Aiming to increase women's professional competencies to start their own businesses, improve their employment and entrepreneurship capacities, the center supports women to take a more active role in economic life by offering trainings on entrepreneurship, financing, promotion, marketing and inventory management in cooperation with local competent institutions.
İpekyolu Gaziantep Digital Manufacturing Livelihood Facility
The facility, of which Gaziantep Union of Chambers of Artisans and Craftsmen is the beneficiary, brings digital production processes together with artisans and entrepreneurs. Qualified intermediate staff needed by the labor market are trained and directed to employment. The project supports product development and prototyping processes by bringing women and young people together in common use workshops.
İpekyolu Gaziantep Producing Women Livelihood Facility
With the project, of which Gaziantep Union of Chambers of Chambers of Artisans and Craftsmen is the beneficiary, sectors such as footwear, souvenirs, packaging, textiles and wood are supported by purchasing machinery and equipment that will increase and facilitate leather and MDF production in order to support women entrepreneurs in Gaziantep to become stronger in business life.
The facility offers production workshops, marketing trainings and cooperative opportunities to help women achieve economic independence.
İpekyolu Young Social Entrepreneurship Center
The center, of which Gaziantep Islamic Science and Technology University is a beneficiary, enables young people to develop their entrepreneurial capacities and develop projects that provide social benefit. With trainings focused on innovation, entrepreneurship and social impact, young entrepreneurs are supported to create sustainable business models.
Capacity Building Activities
Our Brand Communication Guide for Cooperatives has been published. The guide includes concrete examples and practical design tips for building a strong cooperative brand.
We participated in the Social Value and SROI (Social Return on Investment) Accredited Practitioner Training Program within the scope of Institutional Capacity Building Trainings. Staff from the General Directorate of Development Agencies and staff from the Project Implementation Units established at the headquarters attended the training, where we received a holistic training on Social Impact Analysis.
We Started Our Journey with SEECO Community
We have invited our beneficiary network of 1,400 people to a new online community for initiatives in different sectors and in different provinces to be visible, learn from each other and share experiences, find suppliers, increase sales, and develop their sales networks.Our community, which is currently 224 people, continues to grow every day.
In this group, we share the stories of at least two entrepreneurs from different categories every week, announce the support provided by public and international organizations in their regions, share up-to-date information about the SEECO Project, and conduct surveys.
On February 13th, in our first online meeting, we shared the purpose and rules of our community and how our entrepreneurs can benefit from it. In our second meeting, we introduced the İbrahim Bodur Social Entrepreneurship Program and answered the questions of our entrepreneurs. We will continue online meetings with speakers who will inspire our community. If you would like to meet with the SEECO community, share your experiences with entrepreneurs and support them, you can send an e-mail to sosyalgirisim@sanayi.gov.tr.
With the end of February and the beginning of Ramadan, we hope that it will be a month when everyone thinks of others before themselves, when we remember to put the self aside, to be us first and to act together.