With a history of nearly 75 years, Garanti BBVA is Turkey’s second largest private bank. Its Women’s Market program, established in 2006, was one of the first in the region.

About Garanti

Turkey’s second-largest private bank, Garanti BBVA provides a wide range of financial services to its 16.7 million customers through an extensive distribution network of 922 domestic branches, 7 foreign branches in Cyprus and one in Malta, and 3 international representative offices in Düsseldorf and Shanghai, call centers, and internet and mobile banking platforms. Established in 1946, Garanti BBVA is an integrated financial services group operating in every segment of the banking sector, including corporate, commercial, small and medium enterprise (SME), payment systems, retail, private and investment banking, along with its subsidiaries in pension and life insurance, leasing, factoring, brokerage and asset management. With more than US$75.4 billion in assets as of March 31, 2019. Garanti BBVA provides a wide range of financial services to its close to 16.7 million customers with 18,295 employees.

The Program

Garanti BBVA was the first bank in its region to offer products and services specifically targeting the Women’s Market. In 2006 the bank created a Women’s Entrepreneur Support Package designed to help women entrepreneurs establish and grow their businesses. The package provides a variety of products and services tailored to women entrepreneurs’ needs, including bank accounts, credit cards, loans and letters of credit. This was followed by the creation of training and educational tools; networking opportunities, many of which are conducted in partnership with KAGIDER (the Turkish Women Entrepreneurs Association); and the launch of the Women Entrepreneurs Executive School — a collaboration with Bosphorus University to provide women entrepreneurs with business, management and marketing know-how. Garanti BBVA also launched Turkey’s first Woman Entrepreneurship Competition, an initiative that showcases women who have successfully grown their businesses, encouraging more women in the country to become entrepreneurs. As a regional pioneer in this segment, Garanti BBVA has been highlighted internationally for its best practices.

 

WOMEN AT GARANTI BBVA

The bank’s women entrepreneur
program serves more than
300,000 women, with an
outstanding loan portfolio 
of US$1.2 million.



Approximately 37,000
applications are received each
year for the Turkey’s Women
Entrepreneur Competition.



2,000 women have been trained as
part of the Women Entrepreneurs 
Executive School.



58 percent of the bank’s staff is women.



40 percent of Garanti BBVA
senior and middle managers are women.



The Opportunity in Turkey

32%

of Turkish women participated in the labor force as of 2017, according to the World Bank.

53%

of women in Turkey had an account at a formal financial institution in 2017, Findex reported.

11%

of women in the country borrowed money from a formal financial institution in 2017, yet more than half of all Turkish women reported taking out a loan that year, Findex found.

18%

of Turkish women saved at a bank in 2017, according to Findex, but 40% engaged in savings behavior of some sort that year.

10th Anniversary of Garanti Women Entrepreneurs' Support

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