During our visit to the Participation Banks Association of Turkey (TKBB), we consulted with Secretary General Osman Akyüz, Deputy Secretary General İsmail Vural and International Relations and Corporate Communications Manager Fatma Çınar on potential cooperation opportunities and overlapping fields of participation banking and impact investing.
During our visit to A. Burak Dağlıoğlu, President of the Investment Office of the Presidency of Turkey, we talked about the work schedule and action plan of the Impact Investing Advisory Board “EYDK”.
The first meeting of Working Group for Corporate Communication within Impact Investing Advisory Board “EYDK”, which moderated by Onur İlhan, secretary-general of Impact Investment Advisory Board (EYDK), took place with the participation of the member institutions; Impact Investing Platform of Turkey “Etkiyap”, Participation Banks Association of Turkey (TKBB), Industrial Development Bank of Turkey (TSKB), Turkish Development and Investment Bank (TKYB), and Kale Group.
During the gratitude visit we paid to İbrahim Öztop, the General Manager of the Turkish Development and Investment Bank, we consulted about potential impact investing reachs, impact funds, and result-oriented Social Impact Bonds (SIB) in Turkey.
During our gratitude visit to Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, the President of TUBITAK, we held a consultation on the Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) and the correlation between innovation, technology-based investments, and impact investing.
During our visit of courtesy to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkish Republic Faruk Kaymakcı, we consulted on the added value that impact investment will create for the economy and foreign relations of Turkey.
During our visit of courtesy to Şakir Ercan Gül, Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance, we consulted on the national potential for impact investing and the possible cooperation areas within the framework of Impact Investing Advisory Board’s mission and vision.
During our visit to Dr. Çetin Ali Dönmez, the Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology of the Turkish Republic, we consulted on the Impact Measurement and Management (IMM), Impact Funds, and primary sectors that are potent for impact investing in Turkey.
At the first meeting of the Impact Investing Advisory Board “EYDK” , held on May 26, 2021, voting was taken for the positions of President and Vice President. Şafak Müderrisgil, Chair of the Executive Committee, Etkiyap was elected as president. Fevzi Öztürk, General Manager of the Kızılay Asset Management, and Hale Özsoy Bıyıklı, Director of Türkven, were elected as vice presidents.
At the first meeting of the board, voting was also taken to initiate the process of membership application for the Global Steering Group for Impact Investing (GSG). It was unanimously decided to initiate the procedure of membership application for GSG.
Sustainable Development Goals Investor Map Turkey, initiated by UNDP Turkey with the Istanbul International Center for Private Sector in Development in partnership with the Investment Office of the Presidency of Turkey, was launched at the Policy Dialogue Event at the Bosphorus Summit in Istanbul today. Also Turkish National Advisory Board for Impact Investing was announced for the first time at the event.
Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator delivered the keynote speech, whereas UNDP Turkey Resident Representative Claudio Tomasi gave the welcoming remarks at the panel moderated by UNDP IICPSD Director Sahba Sobhani, and attended by Burak Dağlıoğlu, President of the Investment Office of the Presidency of Turkey, İbrahim Öztop, CEO of the Development and Investment Bank of Turkey, and Şafak Müderrisgil, Chair of Impact Investment Platform. Global and local investors, private sector representatives, development finance institutions and other multilateral organizations, civil society groups and non-profits, government and other public sector representatives, and academic experts were among the participants of the event.
At the Policy Dialogue Event, the honorary keynote speech was delivered by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey.
“Any investment, which is not considering the social good and not creating added value for sustainable development, is an incomplete investment. Impact investments, which put together sustainability, social entrepreneurship and social responsibility, present important opportunities for the humanity. We find it very significant to support companies, which bring together this innovative approach with today’s business and social life. We will give all necessary support to the works on impact investment as the Presidency and through our institutions,” Erdoğan said in his honorary keynote speech.
President Erdoğan also thanked UNDP, Impact Investment Platform (Etkiyap), Development Investment Bank of Turkey and the Investment Office of the Presidency of Turkey for the establishment of Turkish National Advisory Board for Impact Investing and congratulated the board members. The Advisory Board aims to create an enabling environment to facilitate the growth of impact investing and to establish a well-functioning ecosystem in Turkey.
Şafak Müderrisgil, Chair of Impact Investment Platform started her speech by drawing attention to the importance of getting the private sector involved in order to be able to expand the SDG related investments for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Şafak Müderrisgil announced that the Turkish National Advisory Board for Impact Investing will be established by the end of March this year, for the first time and she stated “In order to leverage the opportunities and manage the transition to the impact economy in Turkey, establishing a National Advisory Board for Impact Investing was a crucial step. Among the founders of the Turkish National Advisory Board are The Development and Investment Bank of Turkey, Impact Investing Platform Etkiyap, the Investment Office of the Presidency, UNDP Private Sector Center, and UNDP Turkey.” Şafak Müderrisgil elaborated that the Turkish National Advisory Board shall act as a platform and facilitate the development of impact investing in Turkey. “Core aim of the board is to create an enabling environment to facilitate the growth of impact investing and to establish a well-functioning ecosystem with a vision to make impact investing to become a mainstream investing choice in Turkey,” she said.