Finance, Academia and Business World Meet on "TSKB Development Day"

Creating value for Türkiye's inclusive and quality development since 1950, TSKB (Industrial Development Bank of Türkiye) brought together many segments of the society from representatives of international organizations to academia and the business world to contribute to a green and inclusive future. Many businesspeople, economists, academicians and authors attended the 1st edition of TSKB Development Day launched with the opening speech of TSKB CEO Murat Bilgiç. Speaking at the opening of the event, TSKB CEO Murat Bilgiç stated that TSKB will continue its uninterrupted support for Türkiye's development journey with a focus on quality development and added: "As Türkiye's first development and investment bank, we have been creating value for the inclusive and multi-faceted development of our country for 74 years with the same enthusiasm and sense of dedication as on the first day. We are launching TSKB Development Day in order to increase this value, to share our accumulated experience as we approach the 75th anniversary of our Bank on a common ground, and to move our country forward towards a sustainable future in cooperation and synergy with our valuable stakeholders."

Aiming for sustainable development in Türkiye and implementing the first environmental and social impact measurement, TSKB organized the first edition of "TSKB Development Day" event in order to contribute to the construction of an inclusive and sustainable future. The event organized by the Bank in Istanbul on June 4 was attended by senior representatives of international organizations such as the World Bank, the French Development Agency, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, as well as many important participants from academia and the business world.  

Opened by TSKB CEO Murat Bilgiç and the World Bank Country Director for Türkiye Humberto Lopez and featuring speakers such as economists, academicians and businesspeople including Prof. Asaf Savaş Akat and Prof. Refet Gürkaynak, the TSKB Development Day aims to stand out as an important platform for quality development and green economy. Emphasizing that TSKB has always approached the concept of development with a holistic approach in which economic, social and cultural development are intertwined, TSKB CEO Murat Bilgiç stated that they will sustain their uninterrupted support with a focus on Türkiye's quality development and added: "With the first edition of TSKB Development Day, we are pleased to have the opportunity to take a close look at the centennial development journey of our country and discuss on a common ground what we will focus on in strategic development areas in line with the future vision of productive Türkiye. I hope that the TSKB Development Day, which we hope will become a traditional event in the coming years, will turn into an important sharing ground for quality and sustainable development and will open a new space and inspire the solutions to be developed for our sustainable future in cooperation and common sense with the public, private sector, academia and all our stakeholders."

Noting that TSKB's foundation anniversary is June 2, TSKB CEO Murat Bilgiç said, "We wanted to honor our 74-year history dedicated to all-round quality development with a special day by registering June 2, the date of our foundation, as "TSKB Development Day" with the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office. We consider TSKB Development Day not only as the anniversary of our Bank's foundation, but also as a symbolic expression of our 74 years of serving our country by embracing the concept of development with an inclusive perspective. As TSKB, we will focus on the development journey of our country and the future vision of a productive Türkiye on this special day. In the second century of our Republic, we will continue to work with all our strength to ensure the sustainable growth of our country, the realization of its international carbon commitments and to leave a more livable world for future generations."

'QUALITY DEVELOPMENT FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE' MESSAGE ON TSKB DEVELOPMENT DAY

Organized under the motto "Quality Development for a Sustainable Future", the first edition of TSKB Development Day event was launched with the opening speeches of TSKB CEO Murat Bilgiç and Hakan Güldağ, Chairman of the Board of Ekonomi Gazetesi. Following the opening speeches, Humberto Lopez, the World Bank Country Director for Türkiye, took the stage with his keynote speech on "Sustainable Development in Türkiye". Following Humberto Lopez, TSKB Development Day proceeded with the conversation of TSKB CEO Murat Bilgiç and Prof. Asaf Savaş Akat on “Türkiye’s Development Story”. Moderated by Hakan Güldağ, the panel "Türkiye's Green Development Journey" was supported by UN SDSN Türkiye Network Coordinator Bahar Özay, Istanbul Chamber of Industry Sustainability Platform Head Sultan Tepe and UNDP Türkiye Deputy Resident Representative Miodrag Dragisic as speakers. World Bank Program Leader and Senior Financial Sector Specialist Etkin Özen, AIIB Consultant Evren Dilekli and AFD Türkiye Deputy Director Marine Karcher attended as speakers at the panel "Development Banking Towards Inclusive Net Zero" moderated by TSKB Executive Vice President and Sustainability Leader Meral Murathan. Following the conversation between TSKB Chief Economist Dr. Burcu Ünüvar and Prof. Refet Gürkaynak on “Development from the Perspective of an Economist”, the panel on “Role of Capital Markets in Development Banking” was moderated by TSKB Executive Vice President Poyraz Koğacıoğlu. Halil Demirdağ, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Smart Solar, Hasan Sarıçiçek, CFO and Head of Strategy and Investments Department of Naturel Holding, and Hüseyin Gayde, Executive Vice President of İş Asset Management, attended the panel as speakers. The first edition of TSKB Development Day came to an end with a conversation between Didem Eryar Ünlü, Coordinator of Ekonomi Gazetesi, and Zeynep Erdoğan, Coordinator of İmece, on "Creating Common Solutions for a Sustainable Future".

TSKB CEO MURAT BİLGİÇ: "WE ARE DETERMINED TO BOOST DEVELOPMENT"

Stressing that TSKB has played an important role in the projects leading the transformation of Türkiye's energy sector and has been offering financing support to various renewable energy projects in Türkiye through medium and long-term funds since 2002, TSKB CEO Murat Bilgiç said that the bank acts in the light of an approach encompassing social and environmental impacts.

Pointing out that they have also taken important steps towards the establishment of the Türkiye Green Fund, TSKB CEO Murat Bilgiç reminded that they have recently launched the 'Accelerating the Market Transition for Distributed Energy in Türkiye' project in cooperation with the World Bank to directly contribute to Türkiye's 2053 Net Zero target.

"With this meaningful project, we will accelerate the achievement of our country's transformation targets, especially in the energy sector, within the scope of the Nationally Determined Contribution, and get closer to our goal of a sustainable future," said Mr. Bilgiç and added: "Renewable energy stands as a pivotal strategic development area in our country's green transformation. As a bank, we have been paying close attention to this area since 2002. Presently, renewable energy projects constitute 55 percent of Türkiye’s installed capacity. We account for 15 percent of Türkiye’s installed renewable energy capacity thanks to the financing support we have provided to date. Moreover, in the past two years, we have financed over 280 MW of rooftop and land SPP investments, enabling our industrial partners to fulfill their electricity requirements through their own renewable energy sources. Through the Distributed Energy Project we have signed with the World Bank, we aim to expand these investments by introducing them to investors more quickly. I would also like to express our great pleasure in contributing to the environmental impact by reducing over 16 million tons of CO2 emissions every year through the funds we receive from international organizations. In addition, we continue to support the education of young generations with our comprehensive projects that contribute to education in earthquake zones. At TSKB, our efforts are going on for a greener and more sustainable future with all our strength."