Author: Hüseyin Yilmaz

EYDK Board Members have made significant visits to Ankara in its new term after having completed its institutionalisation process in November 2023. The EYDK delegation visited the leaders and executives of the Turkish Government who are members of EYDK’s Advisory Board. The vision and roadmap of EYDK for the new term were conveyed to the institutions. 

EYDK Board Members made courtesy visits to the following officials for their collaboration and contribution to Türkiye’s leadership in the impact economy between February 19-21.
 

• Mr. Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Türkiye 
• Mr. B.E. Mehmet Kemal Bozay, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye 
• Dr. Çetin Ali Dönmez, Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Türkiye 
• Mr. Osman Çelik, Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance of the Republic of Türkiye 
• Dr. Hasan Özçelik, President of the Public Oversight, Accounting and Auditing Standards Authority of the Republic of Türkiye 
• Mr. Bekir Emre HAYKIR, President of the Privatization Administration of the Republic of Türkiye 
• Mr. İbrahim Ömer Gönül, President of the Capital Markets Board of the Republic of Türkiye 
• Prof. Dr. Halil Hasar, Head of Climate Change Presidency of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change of the Republic of Türkiye 
• Mr. Kutluhan Taşkın, Deputy President of Strategy and Budget Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye 
• Mr. Bülent Özcan, Director-General of Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation at the Directorate for European Union Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye. 

The catalogue of the “Impact Measurement and Management Summit: Time to Act in Türkiye”, organised by the Impact Investing Advisory Board (EYDK) and TED University, is now available!

Check out the catalog to learn more about the sessions of the summit, focusing on the significance of Impact Measurement and Management in the transition to an impact economy and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and to access the session records! 👉

The EYDK Board of Directors Meeting was hosted by Turkven on the 18th of October.

During the meeting, the significant activities of 2023 were assessed, and the priorities for 2024 were deliberated.

The event stands as the flagship gathering within the impact movement, uniting practitioners and leaders from the realms of finance, business, policy-making, and civil society across the world each year, organised in various locations.

During the Summit, six new countries announced their participation in The Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG)’s network of National Advisory Boards: Sri Lanka, Peru, Belgium, Norway, Greece, and Malaysia. Additionally, the event celebrated the 10th anniversary of establishing the G8’s 2013 Social Impact Investment Taskforce, which served as a precursor to the GSG, with the participation of network stakeholders.

EYDK (Impact Investing Advisory Board, Turkiye) and her national partners provided valuable contributions to this global gathering.

– Şafak Müderrisgil, President of EYDK,  moderated the panel titled ‘What are the key challenges and next steps for audit & assurance of impact performance.’
– Tuğçe Söğüt,  Secretary General of EYDK, served as a speaker in the panel titled ‘Connecting Capital to Communities: The Potential of Place-Based Investing.’

In addition, EYDK Members took their places in the following sessions;

– Cem Baytok, Managing Partner of idacapital, offered practical insights in the panel titled ‘Investing in Technology: Impact Challenges and Impact Opportunities.’
– Can Atacik, a Member of the Executive Committee of Etkiyap, moderated the panel titled ‘What will it take to drive the investment needed to finance the Just Transition.’

The Summit boasted over 1,000 attendees representing more than 60 countries and featured panels and workshops on topics such as capital mobilisation, impact transparency, and the development of impact economies.

Tuğçe Söğüt, Secretary General of EYDK participated as a speaker to the “Access to finance for social entrepreneurs” panel during the Social Entrepreneurship Forum held in Baku, Azerbaijan on October 13!

The session was moderated by Samir Aliyev (Education HUB), and other speakers included Jala Hajiyeva (Azerbaijan Micro Finance Association), Nicolas Malmendier (EVPA), and Elmir Huseynov (Caucasus Venture).

The Social Entrepreneurship Forum aims to support the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Azerbaijan, provide recommendations in this regard, and bring together ecosystem activists and decision-makers. Panel discussions focused on the establishment of a legal framework for social entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan, integration of social entrepreneurship into state programs, and economic support, with a particular emphasis on access to finance for social entrepreneurs. The forum gathered 100 participants from the public and private sector as well as CSO’s and media.

“Urban Resilience in Post-Earthquake Reconstruction: Development and Financing Through Capital Markets’’ Panel Held at the 7th Turkish Capital Markets Summit on  4th of October!

“Urban Resilience in Post-Earthquake Reconstruction: Development and Financing Through Capital Markets’  panel was held at the Turkish Capital Markets Summit, addressing the earthquake risk in our country and the economic and societal effects of disasters.

During the panel, the extent of the damage caused by earthquakes and the importance of urban resilience were emphasized, and discussions took place on how Turkey can be better prepared for future disasters. Panelists evaluated the economic losses and societal impacts caused by earthquakes while discussing financing methods to enhance urban resilience.

The panel was moderated by Tuğçe Söğüt, the General Secretary of EYDK (Impact Investing Advisory Board), and featured expert speakers Jonathan F. B. Rose (Jonathan Rose Companies, Urban Planner and Real Estate Developer), Can Atacık (Founder of Alethina Impact, Executive Committee Member of Etkiyap), Seçil Yıldız (Deputy General Manager of the Development and Investment Bank of Turkey), Cem Ocak (Deputy Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), and Prof. Dr. Ali Hepşen (Istanbul University, Faculty of Business)  discussed the importance of urban resilience and the role of capital markets.”