CASE STUDY: BOYNER GROUP’S SUPPLY CHAIN STRENGTHENS WOMEN IN BUSINESS Boyner Group, Turkey CASE STUDY: BOYNER GROUP’S SUPPLY CHAIN STRENGTHENS WOMEN IN BUSINESS Project Overview ■■ Expand the entrepreneurs’ knowledge of the markets Faced with such hurdles, many of the female entrepre- I in which they operate neurs in Boyner Group’s supply chain found it difficult to n Turkey, only 16 percent of small and medium enterprises are keep themselves motivated and to lead their businesses majority-owned by women.1 If women participated fully in the labor ■■ Improve their business and management skills effectively. force, the Turkish Gross National Income could increase by 22 ■■ Increase their access to market and finance percent. 2 To address the gap between men and women in its supply opportunities chain, Boyner Group, which is Turkey’s largest retail corporation, partnered with IFC to launch the Supply Chain Women Entrepreneurs’ Empowerment Program in 2014. The program, commonly known as How Were Gender Gaps Addressed? “Good for Business Program,” aimed to train the company’s women- owned suppliers—enhancing their ability to obtain financing and Challenges The Good for Business program selected 23 female participants representing 20 companies in Boyner improve business performance. Suppliers in the retail sector face increasing market Group’s supply chain. In the first cohort, the women pressures. These include long payment terms, reduced attended 12 weekly sessions. Organized into three prices, and low margins—which lead to cost pressures. thematic units, these workshops combined classroom Project Objectives The company saw an opportunity to address such instruction and coaching clinics with certified business challenges by creating a value chain that would include and management trainers. Trainees also learned from The goal of the Good for Business program is to position female-owned women, who are underrepresented among suppliers guest talks by speakers from other organizations in the businesses in Boyner Group’s supply chain, so they and the company in Turkey. The group recognized and is addressing the Good for Business program. Most important, there were become more competitive. The program is designed to build an inclu- lack of women-owned firms in supply chains, which few networking events, such as a vendor fair, to introduce sive pool of suppliers, constituted by the most thriving businesses in retailers are doing. the entrepreneurs to potential buyers. the supply chain. The suppliers are coached to become top performers and to comply with the group’s social and environmental standards. Daily, women in Boyner Group’s supply chain confronted In the first unit, women-owned suppliers learned to layers of challenges that their male peers did not better position themselves in the group’s supply chain To achieve its goals, Boyner Group aims to: encounter. Many of the women entering the Good for by closing gaps in interpersonal and leadership skills, Business program reported that they lacked a clear business and financial knowledge, access to finance, ■■ Raise women business owners’ productivity and performance vision for the future of their businesses. The burden and integration into networks.3 Directed toward strength- ■■ Enhance their business with Boyner and other companies of responsibilities as entrepreneurs and working wives ening women’s soft skills, certified trainers facilitated and mothers held them back from reaching their full potential. They were also less integrated than men into 1 EBRD. Women Entrepreneurs in Turkey and Their Banking Relationships, October 3 Evidence shows that as a group, women business owners are often support networks, which made market survival and 2013. excluded from the informal professional relationships that could grant 2 Teignier, Marc and David Cuberes. How Costly are Labor Gender Gaps? Estimates for positioning more difficult for women business owners them better access to market opportunities. IFC, Women & Business: the Balkans and Turkey, World Bank 2015. than for their male peers. Drivers of Development, 2011. workshops on topics including leadership, human Benefits resource management, communication, and motiva- ■■ The first cohort of the Good for Business program tion. In these sessions, successful Turkish women provided training to women in financial management, entrepreneurs were invited to give inspiring speeches to cash-flow management, market analysis, and participants. strategy. The second unit was designed to build the women’s ■■ A peer network was established among the market knowledge and relevant skills, focusing on participants. In the first two months after the end product and customer-focused marketing, segmentation of the training program, they made eight new and positioning, and business-to-business marketing. prospective customer or business contacts outside A certified trainer facilitated the sessions. In addition, the peer group. experts with in-depth local and sector expertise, such ■■ Women were able to articulate their motivation LESSONS LEARNED as the Boston Consulting Group, provided their insights and vision and to apply technical terminology and into the retail industry and shared market patterns and ■■ Use interactive and engaging training methods and minimize concepts when discussing future plans. trends. This helped increase the women’s business theoretical content. contacts and gave them valuable information for strate- ■■ A vendor fair organized by Boyner Group provided an ■■ Emphasize strengthening the relationship with the Boyner Group gic planning. opportunity for the women to market their products and providing information on business possibilities over “learning and services to potential buyers. new things.” The third unit focused on finance and covered topics ■■ The program helped foster business networks as well such as financial analysis and reading and writing ■■ Plan to follow up the training with commitment and action. as relationships with banks and other companies. balance sheets. In this training block, three Turkish ■■ Create structures that facilitate collaboration among the Good banks (Garanti Bank, Sekerbank, and TEB) present- for Business alumnae, so their firms can continue to benefit and ed their programs for women entrepreneurs. This cultivate new commercial networks well beyond the time spent in helped introduce the participants to banks that offer the program. specific financing products and services for women entrepreneurs. ■■ Measure the program’s effectiveness through control groups. What the project lead says What the partner says diverse pool of resources. It really increased my enthusiasm. There is no such possibility to Ümit Boyner Ms. Zeynep Çeltekçi, Zep Tekstil meet others and to listen to such Working with a large and innovative Through our gender-inclusive Member of the Boyner Group Board a trainer or to the other companies company such as Boyner is an practices, we aim to set an example I could have always stayed in who presented themselves. In the excellent way for IFC to reach for companies and corporations in What the beneficiaries say accounting. Now, thanks to the WhatsApp group, we ask each other women entrepreneurs through Turkey and promote gender equity program, I started to look into how we are doing. I have seen the corporate supply chains. in the country. It’s a smart business We had fun, we learned a lot, and production and client relations. power of the women. I have seen Sammar Essmat decision: placing women and men we got to meet others. their strength, they have never- ¸ Ms. Aysegül Ayar, Ag Moda Giyim Regional Gender Lead for IFC in Europe throughout our operations allows us ending resources. It makes me ¸ Yıldız, Sereda Ms. Isıl and Central Asia to tap into a much wider and more happy. Ms. Serap Baturay, Moso Deri Contact Information IFC 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20433 USA +1 (202) 458-2262 EGibbens@IFC.org www.IFC.org/gender @WBG_Gender 1609004