31.10.2017 Ankara
Facebook will launch a comprehensive global project, #SheMeansBusiness, to support women who are setting up their own businesses and want to be entrepreneurs, together with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and the TOBB Women Entrepreneurs Council in Turkey. TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that, “The organization of production in the first industrial revolution had put women in a disadvantageous position in the economy, but in the new industrial revolution, things are changing and reason and digital technology have begun to take the its place of the muscle power.”
With the project, TOBB and Facebook are aiming to inspire women who want
to establish their own business all around Turkey and to provide women
entrepreneurs with the necessary knowledge, skills, connections and technology
to take their business a step further.
TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that the world is experiencing a
new industrial revolution and that in the first industrial revolution, men were
more advantageous than women in production in the 18th century.
Hisarcıklıoğlu, pointing out factory workers of the time were mostly men
because of their muscle strength advantage, said:
“The organization of production in the first industrial revolution had
put women in a disadvantageous position in the economy, but in the new
industrial revolution, things are changing and reason and digital technology have
begun to take the its place of the muscle power which is a big and very
important opportunity for Turkey. The second is that women who cannot get
enough in economic life can stand out as entrepreneurs or professionals because
of digital technologies.
This is the project we have undertaken with Facebook. Today
entrepreneurship is divided into two: On the one hand, those who will be
restricted by traditional methods, on the other hand those who will be able to
use digital platforms effectively and market their products and services to the
world. We are starting this project because we want the entrepreneurs in Turkey
to be in the second group. At the end of the project, we want to see 5,000 women
who have the ability to grow their business through Facebook and Instagram. As TOBB,
we will continue to undertake affirmative towards female entrepreneurs.”
- “When women become stronger,
the economy becomes stronger”
Nicola Mendelsohn, Vice President of Facebook Europe, Middle East and
Africa Region, congratulating Turkey's ever-growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, reported
that economy grows robust alongside women's empowerment.
Nicola Mendelsohn stated that they celebrate women who have built their
own businesses and successfully run their businesses and one day to are trying
to provide women who one day want to form their own enterprises with the resources
they may need. “There are 44 million visitors to Facebook and 31 million visitors
to Instagram from Turkey monthly. This rich community offers SMEs in Turkey an
opportunity to directly reach their current and potential customers. We aim to
provide women entrepreneurs in Turkey with the opportunity to benefit from
these opportunities and to inspire them to grow their dreams with the
#SheMeansBusiness project.”
Facebook Turkey Country Director Derya Matraş said, “We believe that
women's success is of great importance in terms of strengthening social and
economic growth. There is a great potential in Turkey for women entrepreneurs
who want to set up their own business. That is why we are launching #SheMeansBusiness
project to inspire more women entrepreneurs in Turkey and I am very happy to be
part of this meaningful project.”