"INSPIRING WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS" PANEL HELD

"THE HEART OF THE WOMEN'S STRUGGLE BEATS IN THE SAME PLACE"

A panel titled "Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs: Real Success Stories from Our City" was held in Eskişehir to strengthen women's entrepreneurship and to inspire society through the stories of successful women. Speaking at the panel, Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ayşe Ünlüce said, "Once you step into women's solidarity and the women's struggle, even if duties change, the responsibility and feelings those duties carry remain the same; your heart always beats in the same place."

The panel was organized in cooperation with the TOBB (The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye) Women Entrepreneurs Board and the Eskişehir City Council Women's Assembly, and took place at the Haller Youth Center, Frig Hall.

Delivering the opening speech, Eskişehir City Council Women's Assembly President Zuhal Edizkan Şen said, "Entrepreneurship makes an important contribution to the economic empowerment of women and to increasing their visibility in society. In addition, successful women entrepreneurs serve as a source of inspiration, especially for young women. Women's entrepreneurship is not only about individual success stories; it also directly affects a country's economic welfare and the sustainability of its social relations. Today, the women who make a difference in entrepreneurship contribute significantly to strengthening this climate."

TOBB Eskişehir Provincial Women Entrepreneurs Board Executive Committee President Elif Gürkaynak emphasized the strong steps being taken on behalf of women in Eskişehir and the power of women, saying, "Increasing women's participation in the economy and strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem are among our main priorities. We are carrying out very important work in this regard. Today, it is a great pleasure to be here with you at the 'Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs' event, which we are organizing together with the Eskişehir City Council Women's Assembly. This event is also a clear indicator of how strongly women's strength is felt in our city. In this sense, I sincerely thank our City Council and the Women's Assembly for their contributions."

Eskişehir City Council President Ahmet Kapanoğlu also spoke about the role of women in shaping a bright and prosperous future, saying, "It is a great honor to be together with the women who are here today, sharing their brilliant ideas and the subtleties of women's intuition. The energy in your spirit reaches us; your excitement inspires us. When we look at the women of the world--those who have something to say, a dream to tell, or an idea to share--we see that we are walking toward a bright and happy future together with women. The integration of women into the economy is not only a social policy but also a strategic development model for us. Indeed, in our city, in every field--from politics to the economy, from industry to sports, from the arts to academia--we see the strong footprint of women. I would especially like to emphasize that in Eskişehir, we are all striving to be good role models for our youth. We are all working to leave a fair and beautiful future for our children."

Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ayşe Ünlüce said:

"Once you enter the world of women's stories, women's solidarity, and the women's struggle, even if duties change, the responsibility and emotions carried by those duties remain unchanged; your heart keeps beating in the same place. Although it may seem that I have been somewhat distant from women's journeys and women's struggles due to my current position, every day a part of me thought together with you and continued to ask, 'What more can we do?' As you know, we opened our Digital Youth Center, but we want to expand it even further. Since the current space is no longer sufficient, we are moving to a larger one. Many young people here will develop brands, produce start-up projects, and when we expand further in the future, we may even reach a structure where small prototypes can be produced. We want our Digital Youth Center to become an innovation hub. Of course, many wonderful ideas are emerging in this process, but at times, there are challenges in finding investors. I know that in major cities like Istanbul, women entrepreneurs are establishing various platforms to support young developers. In my opinion, this would be a perfect fit for Eskişehir as well. As women entrepreneurs, we could establish such a structure and achieve remarkable things together. If we take part in such an initiative and encourage our young people--especially our young women--to take part in these ventures, I believe this would be extremely valuable."

Following the opening remarks, the panel was moderated by TOBB Eskişehir Provincial Women Entrepreneurs Board Executive Committee President Elif Gürkaynak and Eskişehir City Council Women's Assembly President Zuhal Edizkan Şen. Women entrepreneurs who have proven their success in different sectors shared their experiences and professional journeys with the participants.

Speakers included TOBB Eskişehir Provincial Women Entrepreneurs Board members Bilge Koylu, Merve Edizkan Cihan, Tuğba Çetintürk, Esra Ayva Sayar, Burçak Güler Acar, Seçil Çoban Ergün, Veterinarian Naciye İnan, and Buse Nalbantoğlu.

The panel, organized to support women's entrepreneurship, highlight success stories, and inspire new entrepreneur candidates, provided a platform for participants to share their experiences.