Microfinance in Turkey - a study of demand and supply

Abstract

Mikrofinans gelir artirici ktivitelerin ve istihdamin artirilmasi yoluyla insanlari yoksulluktan kurtarma mekanizmasidir. Mikrofinansin kalkinmaya olan diger bir etkisi ise bundan en fazla kadinarin yararlanmasidir. Turkiye'nin uyelik muzakerelerini devam ettirmekte oldugu Avrupa Birligi ve dunyanin geri kalan kismi mikrofinans kurumlarinin gelistirilmesinde cok istekli olsalar dahi, Turkiye bu konuda halen son derece kisitli bir tecrubeye sahiptir. Bu calimanin asil amaci Turkiye'de halihazirda buluan mikrofinans arz ve talebini incelemektir. Calisma, Turkiye'de hem sivil topum kuruluslari hem de bankalar tarafindan yapilacak yeni mikrofinans calismalarina talep oldugunu savunmaktadir. Calisma, mikrofinans konsunda gelecekte beklenilen muhtemel gelisim yol haritasiyla sonuclandirilmaktadir. Ayrica, bu calismadan sonraki etabin da Turkiye mikrofinans sektoru icin inovatif modeler bulmak amaciyla diger ulkelerin mikrofinans tecrubelerinin karsilastirilmasi uzerine bir calisma yapilmasi oldugunu soylemektedir.

Microfinance is a tool to elevate people from poverty by increasing income generating activities and employment. It?s another important development impact is the fact that it benefits the women the most. Although the EU -where Turkey currently holds accession talks- and the rest of the world have been keen on developing microfinance facilities, Turkey still has very limited experience regarding microfinance. The main aim of this study is to look at the current demand and supply of microfinance in Turkey. The study argues that that there is an untapped potential demand for microfinance in Turkey for both NGOs and banks. The paper concludes with the possible future development path in the sector. It also recommends that a further comparative study with different countries? microfinance experiences should be conducted in order to find new business/institution models that could be applied to the Turkish microfinance case.