WYG

This four-year programme is one of the largest and first of a new wave of EC-funded projects in Turkey. The main outputs required by the programme are as follows:

• Three independent and self-sustaining EU-Turkey Business Centres, owned and managed within their regions
• Each centre providing comprehensive business support to SMEs and support for internationalisation
• Generating policy guidelines prepared for the Turkish authorities, in partnership with Turkish organisations

The three regions chosen for Business Centres all have growth potential - Gazientep in the east of Turkey, Izmir on the southern coast and Kocaeli, an industrial centre close to Istanbul. Lead partners in each area are forming consortia, which are being transformed into legal structures capable of managing the project into the longer-term.

The centres were launched around the beginning of 2003; local directors and staff have been appointed and trained; in the current six month period around the end of 2003, Euro 3.2 million will be committed to a wide range of activities: by the end of this period around 92 international experts and 210 local experts will have been mobilised; support has been given to start up and developing businesses and a range of sector programmes have been started; training resource centres are currently being established in each centre for use by businesses; and a large exporting initiative is soon to be launched. Altogether more than 900 businesses received services in the first nine months of operation, and it is anticipated this will go to more than 2000 businesses by the end of the six month period into early 2004. The centres have already started along the road to sustainability with income from fees contributing a significant proportion of costs.

A wide range of training packages and consulting manuals have been developed in Turkish for the use of business counsellors and SMEs. The services that are provided include advice to companies on the development of quality systems.