Ernst & Young Entrepreneurial Women Leaders Program

Launched globally in 2008, the EY Entrepreneurial Women Leaders Program targets women entrepreneurs who have built profitable companies but have not yet discovered the essential tools needed to grow sustainably. EY helps empower visionary women to become market leaders by providing access to vast resources, rich networks and technical information for program participants. At the same time, the program creates a global community of over 800 successful female entrepreneurs and inspiring role models spanning 49 countries. In order to support EY’s visionary women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and compete in global markets, the 10 entrepreneurs who were entitled to participate in the 2018 class of the program, which started in 2016 in Turkey, aimed to expand their businesses from different sectors such as energy, textile, retail, education, food and tourism. consists of women entrepreneurs with passion and potential.

While 10 women entrepreneurs selected for the 2018 class benefited from training and mentoring support that will last for a year; With the program that aims to contribute to the national economy, EY Turkey will support women entrepreneurs to rise to leadership in the global market.

EY Entrepreneurial Women Leaders Program Class of 2018:

Aslı Elif Tanuğur Samancı, SBS Scientific Bio Solutions (BEE’O Propolis), Founding Partner and General Manager

Banu Akın Ayhan, İkizler Lighting, General Manager and COO

Esma Gülten Çan, Gizil Energy, Founding Partner

Esra Özkan, Kaya Triko, Partner and General Manager

Jale Ekiz, ABC Retail, General Manager

Melisa Akman, Ersu Fruit, General Manager

Pınar Bağnur Ceyhun, Invictus Tourism, Company Owner

Sevginar Baştekin, 1K Chemistry (HighGenic), Chairman of the Board

Zeynep Arca Şallıel, Arcadia Vineyards, Company Owner

Zeynep Meliha Toros, ZMT Toros Domestic and Foreign Trade, General Manager

What Does the Program Provide for Women Entrepreneurs?
The Entrepreneurial Women Leaders Program made a big difference for its participants in the first two years it was implemented in Turkey. She set an example for the EY Entrepreneurial Women Leaders European Union Programme.

EY Turkey; It aims to expand its business in 2018, by supporting women entrepreneurs with passion and potential, and to prepare them to operate effectively in international markets. Organized to ensure gender equality and contribute to sustainable growth, the program, which also has the characteristics of social responsibility and contribution to the economy, will support women entrepreneurs to join a network where successful entrepreneurs, investors and business leaders can benefit from their knowledge and experience, and to grow their companies in terms of turnover and employment.

Companies of women entrepreneurs who want to participate in the EY Entrepreneurial Women Leaders Program must be based in Turkey and have been operating for at least 3 years, and have an annual turnover of at least 1 Million Euros in the last 2 years. It is also among the conditions for the female entrepreneur to have at least 25 percent of the shares in the company and to be among the main decision makers.
Our EY Entrepreneurial Women Leaders Program targets ambitious women entrepreneurs who have built small but profitable companies but have yet to find the key tools needed to expand sustainably.
The EY Entrepreneurial Women Leaders Program™ highlights the '5 ways to win', which consists of five key steps successful women entrepreneurs must take to grow their companies, and encourages them to adopt ambitious growth plans. In this way, women entrepreneurs who have the opportunity to participate in the program grow their companies, employ more employees and build a better working world: