While in Turkey, Secretary Clinton praised the work being done by Turkey’s local chapter of Partners for a New Beginning (PNB), led by Rifat Hisarciklioglu, the President of TOBB and PNB Vice-Chairs Melih Gezer of Intel Turkey and Deniz Sungurlu of Cisco Turkey.
PNB Turkey is helping bring together The Coca-Cola Company, the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, and TOBB Women's Entrepreneurship Board to launch an innovative public-private partnership that will promote entrepreneurship and cultivate business skills for women in Turkey. Starting this August, the first phase of The Women’s Entrepreneurship Program will give more than 60 women the chance to create new entrepreneurial opportunities and cultivate existing business ideas. Women will receive personalized business development training and coaching, and select participants will be provided with seed grants to support their own enterprise. Women executives from Coca-Cola Turkey will provide ongoing mentoring and technical assistance in areas such as marketing, project management, finance, and human resources. The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce will coordinate additional program partners and manage participant application, selection and monitoring.
Partners for a New Beginning is a collection of public-private partnerships committed to broadening and deepening engagement between the United States and local communities. It supports the vision of mutual interest and respect that was the landmark of President Obama’s June 2009 Cairo speech. PNB is chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, The Coca-Cola Company Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent, and Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson. PNB works with partners in locally-owned and locally-driven chapters around the world -- including Algeria, Indonesia, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Pakistan, and the Palestinian Territories. PNB brings more partners together – from governments, civil society, NGOs, non-profits and businesses – to not only address local priorities, but to give more people the tools to lift up their families and their societies.
For press inquiries contact the Secretary’s Office for Global Partnerships at partnerships@state.gov.
