Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) and a Czech organization have launched a program to help small businesses in Turkey recover from a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that rocked Turkey and Syria in February.
The program, which was launched on July 1, is a collaboration between the fund and the People in Need, a nonprofit, non-governmental organization based in the Czech Republic, ICDF Deputy Secretary-General Alex Shyy (史立軍) told a news briefing in Taipei yesterday.
The quake claimed more than 50,000 lives in Turkey and cost the nation more than US$100 billion, about 9 percent of its GDP this year.
Photo: screen grab from a Ministry of Foreign Affairs livestream
The International Labour Organization estimated that the interruption of economic activities in the area would cause the average monthly income in Turkey to fall by 4,351 Turkish lira (US$161), which would seriously affect people’s livelihoods, Shyy said.
The program aims to assist at least 100 ultra-micro and micro businesses that were registered in the region of Turkey that the earthquake hit.
By providing financial aid as well as business consulting and training services, the program aims to help these businesses, which in turn can help rebuild the earthquake-stricken areas, Shyy said.
Most of the businesses participating in the program are carpentry shops, plumbing and electrical stores, barbershops and grocery stores, he said.
The fund would send experts to join the program in Turkey, continuing Taiwan’s humanitarian assistance after the earthquake, he said.
The program would help to demonstrate Taiwan’s soft power and raise the visibility of the nation in Turkey, he added.
Separately, the fund is to award up to NT$6 million (US$190,367) to encourage businesses and civic groups to invest in Taiwan’s diplomatic allies.
The second edition of the Impact Frontier Lab would be open for submissions from Aug. 15 to Oct. 14, Shyy said.
The project aims to assist participants who intend to invest in Taiwan’s allies by sharing experiences, familiarizing them with the business environments of the countries and helping them to look for sustainable business opportunities, he said.
The themes this year center on the needs of Taiwan’s 12 diplomatic allies and international trends, including adapting to climate change, sustainable development in ecology and the environment, empowerment of the economically disadvantaged and sustainable diets, he said.
Enterprises and organizations are invited to play to their strengths to come up with the best solutions for the allies, he said.
The teams that pass the preliminary round can attend the training provided by the fund to refine their proposals, he said.
Six teams would be chosen in the second round next year and would be awarded grants to conduct field research, he said.
In the final round, three teams would be selected to implement their proposals with a subsidy and in consultation with the fund, he added.
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