Hacer Çakıroğlu

Prior to her last initiative, she worked in different jobs. She served in an international education consultancy company and in the office section of a factory. However, considering that it would be more profitable and more comfortable, she established her own business. She states that although it is more profitable, it means more responsibility, more diligence, and determined work.

She established her business a year ago but could not fulfill her legal responsibilities due to financial difficulties. Due to this situation, she could not work in peace of mind and operated her workplace with a constant reservation. Although she could not carry out formalization procedures, she always knew that she has responsibilities and planned to undertake by finding an opportunity.

Until the project, she did not know anything about United Work or GIZ. One day, her neighbor, who already participated in the project, mentioned the project to her. He sketched out it and explained that there is a project supporting the formalization process of small businesses. Later, she both wondered about it and thought that she was in need of such support. Then, she called United Work to get more information. In the following days, one of the project officers paid a visit to her workplace, and during this visit, he explained the project, GIZ, and United Work in detail. As a result, she regarded project activities and stated that she wants to participate in.

Within the scope of the project activities, her tax and chamber registrations were completed, the necessary inventory of the workplace – POS device and fire extinguisher – was acquired, and all steps were fulfilled by applying for a municipality license. Throughout this process, the United Work team has always been with her in terms of both financial and application processes. At the end of this process, she learned more about the legal responsibilities of businesses and continued to work with the confidence of performing all formalization procedures.

In addition to the support provided in the formalization, the financial support provided within the scope of the project has also been an important resource for her. This support compensated some of the income loss that occurred during the pandemic period. She would like to share her appreciation for all project partners and project employees. She states that the project has been genuinely successful. United Work team was very involved in the implementation process, and she is delighted to be included in such a project.

Hacer is keen to expand her business in the future. At the point where she can reach the necessary resources, she wants to increase her business’s profitability by adding the pastry production section to her business. She thinks that producing the products, which she currently purchases from other manufacturers, will be more profitable and will enable her to provide higher quality products. She is aware that she has some deficiencies in achieving this goal. Firstly, she needs financial resources, and she needs support in order to reach it. Besides, she also knows that she needs to learn more about entrepreneurship. If it becomes possible, she would like to participate in training on entrepreneurship. When these conditions are assured, she will be able to reach a better life by developing the capacity of her business, and she evaluates this project as the first step in this journ