The World Bank Board has approved the Access to Finance for Jobs and Growth Project in Türkiye, a major initiative aimed at expanding financial access for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and promoting job creation, with a strong focus on women and youth. The project will be implemented in partnership with Türkiye Vakıflar Bankası T.A.O. (VakıfBank) and will leverage a EUR 750 million (US$867.8 million) IBRD guarantee under the World Bank Group Guarantee Platform to mobilize up to EUR 1.5 billion in commercial financing from international lenders over a 10-year period.
MSMEs and entrepreneurs in Türkiye face considerable challenges, including limited access to credit, digital financial services, and formal labor market participation, which constrain productivity, investment, and job creation. By targeting women and youth entrepreneurs, the project aims to enhance access to finance for all viable MSMEs while incentivizing employment, competitiveness, and economic growth. Humberto Lopez, World Bank Country Director for Türkiye, highlighted that the initiative will help entrepreneurs grow, innovate, and create jobs, while also harmonizing market standards across banks to strengthen the financial ecosystem.
The guarantee will provide sub-loans to approximately 30,000 MSMEs, including 15,000 women-led and 1,000 youth-led firms, through three financing windows supporting women and youth entrepreneurship, sectoral access to finance, and resilience in underdeveloped and disaster-affected regions. Performance-based incentives will reward firms that hire and retain employees, particularly women and youth, and adopt digital financial services to broaden access. The project is expected to generate up to 800,000 new or higher-quality jobs, both directly and indirectly.
In addition to financing, the project will serve as a demonstration platform to harmonize definitions, verification practices, and reporting standards for MSMEs, enabling other banks to replicate and scale financial services, especially for women-led enterprises. Etkin Özen, World Bank Task Team Leader, emphasized that this systemic approach is essential for achieving broader financial inclusion and impact.
The initiative forms part of the World Bank Group’s regional FINGROW Program, a $4 billion effort across Europe and Central Asia designed to improve access to financial services for businesses, foster private sector growth, and create 3.5 million jobs. Türkiye and Uzbekistan are the first countries in the region to benefit from FINGROW support, highlighting the program’s regional scope and potential for transformative economic impact.
