Creation and Protection of Human Capital

The population is expected to age without getting any richer as the population is not included in production. The elderly population is expected to exceed the number of children in 2040. Thus women are worried about the lack of wealth, and the number of births is decreasing.

The main problem is that well-being does not increase at the same pace for a rapidly aging society. With references to the research studies of the European Union and the World Bank, 77 percent of men and 65 percent of women are employed. For women and men, these figures are 50 percent and 30 percent, respectively, in Turkey.

The current gap and the aging of the population create anxiety disorders in women. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) developed the Platform for Women’s and Girls’ Health and Development initiative to improve women’s and girl’s mental and physical health.

Istanbul Attracts Health Investments

Istanbul is the center of its region in the fields of healthcare services and investments. Health indicators point to investment opportunities in Istanbul for nationally and globally.

Women’s and Girl’s Health and Development has been identified as a priority area in the IMM initiative with the aim of making Istanbul a center of attraction for health investments.

Aims of the project:

• The project, which will work as the intersection point of recent technology initiatives with a visionary approach that includes academia and education in the health of more than 8 million women and girls in Europe’s largest metropolis, will put Istanbul into the leader position in the field of women’s and girls’ health and development in Turkey and the international arena.
• Starting in the digital environment in 2021, to lead to raise of the healthy future generations in Istanbul with the EXPO International Women’s and Girls’ Health and Development Conference and Fair every year, and to contribute to the promotion of Istanbul with international participants.
• In addition, to organize invitation, education, and social research focused on the health and development of women and girls in Istanbul.
• Technoparks, incubation centers and start-up initiatives, whose number has increased in our country and the world in recent years, have serious economic potential. With this project, to establish a women’s health start-up ecosystem that produces technological solutions to the problems in the field of women’s health with the added value and brand value of Istanbul. To establish a financing mechanism dominated by “impact investing” to bring the Start-Up Ecosystem working in the field of Women’s and Girls’ Health And Development together with national and international investors.

Women’s and Girls’ Health and Development Platform consists of 4 main activity units:

1. Start-up Innovation Center: With the Technology Transfer Office and Start-up Incubation Center located in the Innovation Center, it is expected to support entrepreneurs in the health sector to bring innovation to the health industry and to serve as a center where start-ups operating in the field of women’s health meet with investors.
2. Training Unit: It is aimed to increase the awareness of women and girls, to eliminate the lack of knowledge, to support women and girls in terms of health through training, seminars, and workshops to be given by experts on the subject.
3. Social Research Center: Conducting researches with independent researchers, related associations, and research departments of universities to investigate issues related to the health of women and girls and to find solutions to problems; It is aimed to make measurements according to the results and to share the social reflections of the solutions developed by start-ups.
4. Events– EXPO Fair: Organizing national and international conferences, congresses, health fairs on important issues related to women’s and girls’ health. It is aimed to create a center of attraction where start-ups, researchers, investors, leading companies in the health sector, sponsors, educators and citizens can come together.