The “Twin Transformation Journey of 100 SMEs” project, implemented by Türkiye İş Bankası (İşbank) in cooperation with MEXT Technology Center on its 100th anniversary, aims to accelerate both the digital and green transformation of SMEs, the backbone of the economy.
Türkiye İş Bankası and MEXT joined forces to increase the efficiency of SMEs in production, to achieve a more competitive position in the global arena, and to accelerate their digital and green transformation journeys.
Technology providers, SMEs, and the Bank’s ecosystem will be brought together to implement the projects. Within the scope of the project, different loan supports will be provided to SMEs by Türkiye İş Bankası.
The “Twin Transformation Journey of 100 SMEs” project, which is aimed to produce insights that will guide the entire country’s industry when completed, was introduced at the launch held at MEXT Technology Center with the participation of Özgür Burak Akkol, President at MESS and Hakan Aran, Chief Executive Officer at Türkiye İş Bankası.
“There are more than 400,000 manufacturing SMEs in our country. SMEs provide 72.5% of the total employment in the sector and account for 54.2% of the sector’s total turnover. We see the “Twin Transformation Journey of 100 SMEs” project as a strategic step for the future of Turkish manufacturing SMEs and our industry. We aim to increase the profitability of SMEs by carrying out their production more efficiently and to be more competitive against their global competitors. On the other hand, we want our SMEs to be better prepared for the new regulations. Because we believe that it is not enough for large companies to be prepared for digital and green transformation. Half of the total exports made by SMEs in 2022 were to European countries. For this reason, global developments such as the European Union’s implementation of a carbon tax at the border show that green transformation is no longer an option, but a necessity. Our project will make significant contributions to Turkey and especially our SMEs in achieving their sustainable development goals,” – said Özgür Burak Akkol.
“The SMEs we choose will find us at their side in digitalizing the managerial processes of their production lines, determining their energy efficiency investment needs, and providing financial support at the most affordable costs, if necessary,” – mentioned Hakan Aran.
“Assuming that other SMEs will complete their twin transformations within three years, inspired by this project. This has the potential to contribute up to USD 269 billion (approx. EUR 247 billion) to the Turkish economy,” – added Hakan Aran.
Source: the Bank’s press release dated February 21, 2024
