Pioneers of Entrepreneurship

Launched in partnership with Alarko Holding and the Habitat Association, the Pioneers of Entrepreneurship Project aims to enhance the digital marketing, digital tool usage, design thinking, and entrepreneurship skills of women, as well as increase their knowledge and experience in cooperative formation steps, and to support entrepreneurial initiatives. The project primarily aims to provide theoretical and practical training to women, particularly those who are aspiring entrepreneurs or are already engaged in entrepreneurship.

In 2023, 464 aspiring and active women entrepreneurs from 59 provinces participated in the 40-hour training program, which includes topics such as Google Sites, Figma, Powtoon, Canva, Digital Marketing, Cooperative Formation, Design Thinking, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube Advertising.

The first phase of the Pioneers of Entrepreneurship Project was completed with training sessions, followed by the second phase "Added Value to Entrepreneurship" Idea Marathon. During the marathon, the business ideas of women entrepreneurs were evaluated, and 20 teams advancing to the next stage were provided with training on Design Thinking, Pitching, Marketing and Brand Strategy, Entrepreneurship, and Lean Canvas. These 20 teams had the opportunity to present their business ideas to a preliminary jury, which selected 10 teams to proceed to the final stage. The 10 finalist teams received one-on-one mentorship support. Following the mentorship, the selected teams presented their business ideas at a demo day event held in Istanbul, where the top three business ideas were awarded a total of 100,000 TL in technology gift vouchers.