Women in business

In Bulgaria, while women excel in middle management roles, only 16 percent occupy senior management positions, as reported by the National Statistical Institute. This stark gender disparity underscores a broader European directive requiring at least 30 percent of management roles to be held by women, a mandate Bulgaria aims to implement by year-end.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has said it is increasing financing for its popular Women in Business program with a new $55 million loan to QNB Finansbank, a Turkish commercial bank, which will on-lend the funds to businesses either owned or run by women. 

The number of women entrepreneurs in Turkey has jumped 35 percent to over 250,000 since 2013, according to a study released by the Customs and Trade Ministry on March 8.      

As of March 1, there were 256,992 women business owners, compared to 190,382 in 2013, the study said, adding that the share of women entrepreneurs rose 15 percent from 12.7 percent over the same period.      

Their total assets surpass 250 billion dollars, and collectively, their combined assets are more than the Greek GDP for 2014.

1. Christy Walton, American philanthropist and Walmart heir
41.3 billion dollars

Encouragement comes next to flexible credit among the requests of female entrepreneurs, according to a recent survey, which also revealed a number of interesting factors affecting women who start their own businesses in Turkey. 

BELGRADE - Female entrepreneurship is one of the great potentials for developing micro-, small and medium enterprises and a potential source of new employment, said the participants of the first Forum on Female Entrepreneurship in Belgrade on Monday.

However, women entrepreneurs account for just 26 percent of the total active private enterprises in Serbia, they said.

The government should impose incentives for women entrepreneurs in public spending just as it does for domestic producers, according to the head of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), Rifat Hisarc?kl?o?lu.