Prime Highlights
- Garanti BBVA Executive Vice President Sibel Kaya spoke at the Global Summit of Women 2026 in Istanbul, highlighting the bank’s 20-year track record of supporting women entrepreneurs.
- Garanti BBVA has provided 350 billion lira in financing to women entrepreneurs over the past five years through four core pillars: financing, education, encouragement and market access.
Key Facts
- The Global Summit of Women 2026 was held in Istanbul and featured Türkiye’s Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Şimşek, among its speakers.
- Women entrepreneurs Nazlı Uyanık and Müge Baltacı, both backed by Garanti BBVA, shared their business journeys with international attendees at the summit.
Background
Garanti BBVA took its two-decade record of supporting women entrepreneurs to the Global Summit of Women 2026 in Istanbul, where ministers, business leaders, investors and opinion leaders gathered from across the world.
Garanti BBVA Executive Vice President Sibel Kaya spoke at the summit during a session titled “Doing Business in Türkiye,” which also featured Türkiye’s Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Şimşek.
Kaya addressed the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises to the broader economy, the growth of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and the impact women entrepreneurs are making across sectors.
Kaya told attendees that the bank has provided 350 billion lira in financing to women entrepreneurs over the past five years alone. She said Garanti BBVA builds its support around four pillars: financing, education, encouragement and market access. “We do not view women’s entrepreneurship solely as a social responsibility initiative. It is a key component of inclusive growth and sustainable development,” she said.
She added that Garanti BBVA has shared its model with organisations including the IFC in Istanbul and at a United Nations Commission on the Status of Women event in New York. Through its partnership with Techstars and programmes like Startup Weekend Women, the bank works to connect women entrepreneurs with global networks.
Two women entrepreneurs backed by Garanti BBVA also spoke at the summit. Nazlı Uyanık, founder of Nebyan Doğal, and Müge Baltacı, founder of Mol-E, both former winners of the Türkiye Women Entrepreneur Competition, shared their growth journeys with international participants.
On the closing day, Garanti BBVA Venture Banking Manager Selin Öz joined a panel on personal and corporate financial planning and sustainable growth.
