Women entrepreneurs were brought together with business and entrepreneurship networks in London as part of the WeLead Project, implemented in cooperation between the Turkish Business Confederation (TÜRKONFED) and Türkiye İş Bankası. The delegation, which included representatives of both organizations, held meetings with public institutions, parliamentarians, and leading figures from the finance, technology, innovation, and business communities. The visit aimed to establish new trade bridges, develop international partnerships, and contribute to relations between Türkiye and the United Kingdom.
Commenting on the visit, which also included a reception hosted at the Turkish Ambassador’s Residence in London, Prof. Dr. Yasemin Açık, TÜRKONFED Vice President and Chair of the Women in Business Commission, emphasized that empowering women is a necessity for Türkiye in an era of uncertainty and disruption. Özge Küllah Kurtuluş, SME and Business Banking Marketing Manager at Türkiye İş Bankası, stated that women's participation in the economy through their businesses and increasing female employment are essential to sustainable development.
A visit to London, the capital of the United Kingdom, was organized as part of the WeLead Project, launched in 2021 under the leadership of the Turkish Business Confederation (TÜRKONFED) with the support of Türkiye İş Bankası to help women entrepreneurs adapt more effectively to business development processes in an increasingly digitalized and rapidly changing world. Alongside representatives of TÜRKONFED and Türkiye İş Bankası, the delegation included Alev Akarsu, Co-Founder and CEO of Tufetto; Ezgi Tokbaylar İlgüy, Founder of Muntazam Design; and Hande Güventürk, Founder of Posamas, who successfully completed the second phase of the program in recent months.
Strategic Engagements with Finance, Business, and Political Leaders
On the first day of the visit, the delegation met with Vomic Nur Shah, Global Clients and Business Development Director at UK Export Finance (UKEF); Daniel Zeichner, the United Kingdom’s Special Envoy to Türkiye and Member of Parliament for Cambridge; Kirsty Hayes, Europe Director at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO); and Baroness Arlene Foster, Vice Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on International Trade and Investment. Discussions focused on the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Türkiye and the United Kingdom, cooperation in third countries, new financing instruments, and the digital and green transformation of SMEs.
As part of the technology and finance agenda, the delegation also met with Chika Muorah, Associate Director for the EMEA Region at TheCityUK, and Julian David OBE, CEO of techUK, to explore partnership opportunities in artificial intelligence adoption, cloud technologies, and financial services.
Special Reception at the Turkish Ambassador’s Residence
Following an intensive series of meetings, a special reception was held at the Turkish Ambassador’s Residence in London, hosted by TÜRKONFED and İşbank UK. The event featured speeches by Osman Koray Ertaş, Ambassador of Türkiye to the United Kingdom; Tom Attenborough, Head of International Primary Markets at the London Stock Exchange; and Neil Cosgrove from the UK Prime Minister’s Office for Investment. During the reception, representatives of the Turkish and British business communities reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral trade relations.
Prof. Dr. Yasemin Açık: “Women’s Labor Force Participation Must Exceed 40%”
Speaking at the reception, Prof. Dr. Yasemin Açık, TÜRKONFED Vice President and Chair of the Women in Business Commission, emphasized that the WeLead Project is strengthening bridges for international cooperation. She said, “In an era of uncertainty and disruption, failing to fully integrate the potential of half of our population and talent pool into the economy is incompatible with our sustainable development goals. Women’s empowerment is not a choice for Türkiye; it is a necessity. Our country’s Development Plan aims to increase women’s labor force participation rate to over 40% by 2028. We are determined to contribute to this goal to the best of our ability through the strength of our business community and civil society networks.”
“Women Entrepreneurs Can Demonstrate Our Country’s Competitiveness to the World”
Commenting on the visit, Prof. Dr. Açık continued, “The meetings we held in London with public institutions, parliamentary groups, and organizations operating in the innovation, technology, finance, and SME ecosystems provide women entrepreneurs with new knowledge and perspectives. These experiences will contribute to their development in technology, exports, access to finance, and the green and digital transitions. They will also help them enter new markets and become more competitive globally. As women entrepreneurs gain greater visibility in international markets, they will go beyond their individual success stories and demonstrate our country’s production capacity, innovation capabilities, and competitiveness to the world.”
Özge Küllah Kurtuluş: “We Adopt a Comprehensive Approach to Empowering Women Entrepreneurs”
Özge Küllah Kurtuluş, SME and Business Banking Marketing Manager at Türkiye İş Bankası, stated that enabling women-owned businesses to participate in the economy and increasing female employment are essential to sustainable development. Explaining that the bank published its Women's Empowerment Declaration on March 8, 2023, Kurtuluş said, “Through this declaration, we committed to providing TRY 100 billion in financing to women entrepreneurs and delivering financial literacy training to 15,000 women within five years. We achieved our financing target ahead of the five-year deadline, in the first half of 2025, and increased our commitment to TRY 250 billion by the end of 2028. We have also fulfilled 68% of our commitment to provide financial literacy training to women entrepreneurs within three years. This comprehensive approach, combining financial and educational support for women entrepreneurs, is a concrete demonstration of our commitment to strengthening women's participation in economic life as a strategic priority.”
“The WeLead Project Helps Promote a Gender-Equal Perspective in the Business Community”
Emphasizing that the WeLead Project has directly reached more than 12,000 women entrepreneurs to date, Kurtuluş stated that the project aims to reach an additional 7,500 women entrepreneurs during its third phase, covering 2026–2027. She added that the project also plans to strengthen the women’s entrepreneurship ecosystem by providing mentorship support and business development awards to 120 women entrepreneurs during this period.
Artificial Intelligence and Global Investment Opportunities Discussed
On the second day of the visit, the delegation met with Lucy Monks, Director of International Affairs at the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB); Giles Roca, Paul Stockall, and Alex Brooeks, representing the Secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Innovation, Enterprise and SMEs; and Lord Harrington, Chair of Make UK. Discussions addressed FTA negotiations, SMEs’ digital and green transformation processes, and opportunities for joint cooperation with third countries in the manufacturing industry. As part of the program’s focus on technology, venture capital, and innovation, the delegation also held meetings with Douglas Hansen-Luke, Chairman of Future Planet Capital, and Eric Van der Kleij, Chairman of EdenBase, to explore artificial intelligence adoption, deep-tech investments, the commercialization of quantum computing, and opportunities for Turkish entrepreneurs to access international capital.
Project Aims to Reach Approximately 20,000 Women Entrepreneurs by the End of 2027
Since 2021, more than 12,000 women have received training through the WeLead Project. In addition, 149 women entrepreneurs have received mentorship support, 40 women entrepreneurs have benefited from interest-free loans totaling TRY 3 million, and 26 women entrepreneurs have received business development support. During the project’s new two-year phase covering 2026–2027, an additional 7,500 women entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs will be reached through online and in-person training programs, regional events, and digital platforms. A total of 120 women entrepreneurs will receive mentorship support for six months each year. Among the entrepreneurs participating in this program, 60 women entrepreneurs selected by a jury will receive business development awards.