UN-Backed Programme Trains 1,000 Refugee Entrepreneurs in Turkey

Istanbul: A UN-backed programme to train Syrian entrepreneurs in Turkey has produced a thousand graduates. The three-month scheme was a pilot program run by Habitat and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Called IMECE (a Turkish word that refers to an ancient tradition of solidarity and working collectively for a common purpose) the course saw participants across 14 provinces trained to develop business ideas to help them participate in Turkey’s economy. “We will provide further support for Syrian refugees who completed the program,” said Basak Saral, general coordinator of Habitat and IMECE director. Turkey hosts about three million Syrian refugees. The country has spent around $25 billion on helping and sheltering refugees since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.