Author: Hüseyin Yilmaz

Tuğçe Söğüt, Secretary General of the EYDK, presented  Impact Investments at the Investment and Entrepreneurship Journalism Training organised in collaboration with the Investment Office of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye and Anadolu Agency.

 The training aimed to equip media professionals with specialised skills in investment and entrepreneurship journalism and to improve the quality of content produced on financial investments. During the training, EYDK’s Secretary General, Tuğçe Söğüt, emphasised the importance, potential, and pioneering role of Impact Investing in transforming the financial world for the future.

As EYDK, we believe that such events play a crucial role in raising awareness and reaching broader audiences about Impact Investments within the investment and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

GSG Leadership Meeting (GLM) 2024, organised by GSG Impact, brought together global leaders in the field of impact investing with the theme “Ignite Impact: Bridging Solutions for the Global South, LatAm Focus,” on June 17-18 in Costa Rica!

During the second and third days of the event, closed meetings were organised with the participation of the GSG Impact national and strategic partners , focusing on various topics in the field of impact investing. As GSG Impact’s national partner, we represented our country in these sessions, presenting successful examples of Impact Transparency and Placed-Based Impact Investing to global stakeholders in the impact ecosystem.

Türkiye took significant steps in Impact Transparency last year:

–In 2023, the Public Oversight Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority (KGK) adopted the international standards published by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) under the auspices of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS) as the international basis for Türkiye’s Sustainability Reporting Standards. These standards are designed specifically to create a comprehensive global foundation for sustainability reporting tailored to the needs of investors and financial markets, and they play a significant role in ensuring impact transparency. As companies face growing pressure to disclose more data on climate risks, their management, and supply chains, the integration of these standards into Turkish legislation marks a pivotal moment in advancing reporting standards for climate and sustainability.

-Following KGK’s acceptance of ISSB Standards for integration into Turkish legislation, a collaboration protocol was signed between EYDK and KGK at the national level. The protocol aims to increase awareness and promote the implementation of international standards in Türkiye regarding impact measurement, management, and reporting.

During the meetings, Impact Weighted Accounts also emerged as prominent in the field of impact transparency:

-Impact-weighted accounts are line items on a financial statement, such as an income statement or a balance sheet, which are added to supplement the statement of financial health and performance by reflecting a company’s positive and negative impacts on employees, customers, the environment and the broader society. The aspiration is an integrated view of performance which allows investors and managers to make informed decisions based not only on monetized private gains or losses, but also on the broader impact a company has on society and the environment.

Click here to learn more about Place-Based Impact Investing  in Türkiye and GLM 2024. 

We were thrilled to attend the GSG Leadership Meeting (GLM) 2024, held on 17-18 June in Costa Rica, under the theme “Ignite Impact: Bridging Solutions for the Global South, LatAm Focus” organised by GSG Impact!

As the national partner of GSG Impact, we are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to join other impact leaders at this fruitful meeting. The GLM is a unique gathering that brought together global leaders to reflect on progress in building Impact Economies and to co-create solutions for current challenges and priority areas.

Thank you to everyone who made this event possible! Together, we are driving impactful change across the Global South and beyond.

A special highlight was our Secretary General, Tuğçe Söğüt, speaking on the panel titled “South Cooperation and Place-based Impact Investment.” Moderated by Sebastián Welisiejko (Global Policy Director, GSG Impact), the panel also featured esteemed speakers Amma Lartey (CEO, Impact Investment Ghana) and Royston Braganza (CEO, Grameen Capital India). The discussions focused on Place-Based Impact Investing in Ghana, India, and Türkiye, as well as global cooperation strategies.

EYDK, playing a leading role in the development of the Place-Based Impact Investing ecosystem in Türkiye:

We established the ‘Place-Based Impact Investment and Urban Healing Working Group’ in line with this goal, and with the strategic collaboration of GSG Impact, had implemented the “Scaling Catalytic Capital Deployment to Address Informal Settlement Crisis Project”.

The project was designed based on the flagship report: Informal Settlements: No Longer Invisible,” launched by the GSG policy team in July 2022, which aims to increase awareness about urban resilience and the crucial role of the private sector, establish a transparent and action-oriented knowledge hub for place-based impact investing, and create interdisciplinary foundational work in this field. This report serves as a global call to action, inspiring action-oriented efforts to implement scalable solutions effectively. Under the scope of this report and in strategic collaboration with GSG, EYDK has implemented the Turkish part of place-based impact investment initiatives similar to those being carried out in Colombia.

Three main outputs have been developed within the framework of the “Scaling Catalytical Capital Deployment to Address the Informal Settlements Crisis” Project, which was implemented in partnership with GSG Impact and with the support of the Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3). Following the “The Potential of Urban Healing Advancement in Turkiye Report” launched in January 2023 and the “Resilient Cities of the Future Workshop” held in March 2023 and its final report, the “Demystifying Urban Healing and Advancement: Instruments and Strategies” Report was published as the last output of the project

Also in the Turkish ecosystem:

The ‘İzmir Historical Kemeraltı Real Estate Investment Fund’ is a pioneering example of impact investment within Türkiye’s fund ecosystem, distinguished by its unique structure, mission, and objectives. Established through a partnership between EYDK member TARKEM and Re-Pie Portfolio, the fund aims to deliver returns to investors while prioritising societal benefits through impactful investments in the region. Launched in June 2023, the fund currently manages assets worth 50 million Turkish Liras and has attracted support from 230 investors.

Türkiye, one of the first countries to integrate International Sustainability Standards into its legislation, shared its experiences at the Sustainability Standards Conference 2024. Gülşah Günay, Head of Sustainability Standards Department at the Public Oversight Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority (KGK), presented Türkiye’s early experiences in the panel titled “Implementation of ISSB Standards: What are the First Experiences from Practise?”. Panel moderated by Sue Lloyd ( International Sustainability Standards Board), speakers were Prof. Loriana Pelizzon (SAFE), Nadja Picard (PwC), and Adam Pradela (DHL Group).

Additionally, at the conference, Tuğçe Söğüt, Secretary General of EYDK, and Gülşah Günay, Head of Sustainability Standards Department of KGK, also had the opportunity to meet with ISSB President Emmanuel Faber.

In 2023, the Public Oversight Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority (KGK) adopted the international standards published by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) under the auspices of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS) as the international basis for Türkiye’s Sustainability Reporting Standards. These standards are designed specifically to create a comprehensive global foundation for sustainability reporting tailored to the needs of investors and financial markets, and they play a significant role in ensuring impact transparency.