EBRD Puts €100 Million Into Garanti BBVA Notes for Women- and Youth-Led Firms

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is investing €100 million in senior rated notes issued under Garanti BBVA's existing diversified payment rights programme, funding women- and youth-led businesses in Türkiye. The EBRD said the financing gives Garanti BBVA long-term funding to expand access to finance for those businesses.

How the Garanti BBVA Notes Split

Half of the investment, €50 million, will be provided under the Türkiye Women in Business II programme for on-lending to women-owned or -led small and medium-sized enterprises. Under TurWiB II, Garanti BBVA will seek to broaden access to finance for women entrepreneurs, including businesses outside Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir and first-time borrowers. The programme will also provide targeted non-financial services to eligible women-led businesses, including advisory support, training, mentoring, networking and knowledge products, with a potential focus on growth-stage and technology-oriented companies.

The remaining €50 million will be provided under the Türkiye Youth in Business programme, supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that are managed or majority-owned by people under the age of 35. The EBRD financing will be accompanied by first-loss risk cover provided by the Türkiye Credit Guarantee Fund and underwritten by the Turkish Treasury. DPR financing is backed by current and future foreign-currency payment orders generated through the bank's payment business, supporting longer-term funding and helping to diversify Garanti BBVA's wholesale funding base.

Francis Malige, the EBRD's Managing Director for Financial Institutions, said: "Women and young entrepreneurs are central to Türkiye's long-term competitiveness, yet many continue to face barriers in accessing finance and know-how. By combining long-term funding with targeted advisory support and credit enhancement, this investment will help Garanti BBVA to reach more businesses, including first-time borrowers and entrepreneurs in Türkiye."

Mahmut Akten, the CEO of Garanti BBVA, said: "We are pleased to strengthen our longstanding partnership with the EBRD through this financing. Diversifying our funding sources enables us to support businesses with long-term financing, while the dedicated funding for women and young entrepreneurs will help broaden access to finance and foster more inclusive growth in Türkiye."

Garanti BBVA is one of the EBRD's longest-standing partner banks in Türkiye. This is the bank's first transaction under TurWiB II, building on its participation in the first phase of the EBRD's Women in Business programme, and its first transaction under the TurYiB programme.

EBRD's Türkiye Lending Record

According to akta.pro company records, the EBRD has invested €220 billion since 1991 and completed more than 7,800 projects across more than 40 economies. The EBRD said it has committed more than €26 billion in Türkiye since 2009, largely in the private sector.

Earlier EBRD Türkiye Deals

On October 21, 2026, the EBRD agreed a loan of up to €45 million to Uludağ İçecek to build a mineral water and soft drinks production facility in Malatya, Turkey, with financing also covering new equipment and machinery. The same day, the EBRD agreed a loan of up to $29 million to Memişoğlu Tarım Ürünleri, a Turkish food processor, to install a new canned pulses production line and support working capital. The EBRD also agreed up to €50 million to QNB Leasing under Türkiye's Green Economy Financing Facility III to support green investment in earthquake-affected regions.