Within the scope of the ‘Technical Assistance for Promoting Youth Employment in TRC3 Region’ Project, which is co-financed by the Republic of Turkey and the European Union and implemented by Tigris Development Agency, where the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services, Directorate of European Union and Financial Assistance acts as the contracting authority, an Entrepreneurship Competition was organized to promote entrepreneurship culture among young people living in TRC3 Region.

The Entrepreneurship Competition, which was held for the first time in TRC3 Region and where business ideas and plans were evaluated on the basis of specific criteria from innovation to growth and employment creation potential, targeted young people between the ages of 15-29 in the provinces of Mardin, Batman, Siirt and Şırnak and undergraduate students in these provinces. At the end of the competition, the owners of the 3 successful business ideas selected by the jury were announced at the Award Ceremony held on 25 November 2021.

The Award Ceremony, which was held in Mardin with the participation of young entrepreneur candidates who applied to the competition, hosted important speakers from different fields of entrepreneurship. The host and moderator of the Award Ceremony was Fuat Sami, the producer of the “Bir fikrin mi var (Do you have an idea?)” program and angel investor, who is known for his previous competitions and TV programs.

Hosting the Entrepreneurship Competition Award Ceremony, Tigris Development Agency General Secretary Mr. Ahmet Alanlı stated in his opening speech, “We are happy to be able to come together with young people, who will add value to our region with their innovative ideas, as a result of this Entrepreneurship Competition held for the first time in TRC3 Region, and to increase the benefit provided to our region and to support the young entrepreneurs of the future, we are taking steps towards the creation of an eco-system”.

Following the opening speeches of Tsvetana Stoycheva, Program Manager of EU Policies of the Delegation of the EU to Turkey, and Anıl Selvi, Project Director of WEGlobal, panels on entrepreneurship with important speakers from different fields were held.

In the first panel moderated by Fuat Sami, Young entrepreneur and Founding Partner of StartupCentrum Nizamettin Sami Harputlu, Individual Technology Investor Hande Enes and Technology Communicator Dr. Sertaç Doğanay addressed entrepreneurship from different aspects and provided important information and tips to the participants. In the second panel, the Head of Department of Employment Policies of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security İbrahim Demircan, KOSGEB Mardin Provincial Deputy Director Onur Şahin and the Team Leader of the Technical Assistance for Promoting Youth Employment in TRC3 Region Project Cleofe Guardigli came together and conveyed the KOSGEB incentives that young entrepreneurs can benefit from, policies carried out in the field of youth employment and the services provided within the scope of the project.

In the second part of the Entrepreneurship Competition Award Ceremony, the participants met Author Aslıhan Dağstanlı Aysev and Leap Natural Development Expert Emel Demirel Andrews and listened to their motivational success stories.

At the end of the Entrepreneurship Competition Award Ceremony, the top 3 successful young entrepreneur candidates selected by the jury were announced and they had the opportunity to present their business ideas at the Award Ceremony Stage. Among a total of 67 applications, Neslihan Bulgaz from Siirt with the business idea of “Eco-Bio Market”, Edanur Dursun from Batman with the “Collective Workshop” project and İbrahim Munis from Şırnak with the business idea of “Cizre Memilheva Cookie” won the 1-month internship award. With the internship opportunity to be provided in a successful company outside the TRC3 region, young people will have the opportunity to develop themselves and their business ideas and discover business dynamics.