Success Stories

Before arriving in Turkey, in Syria, Muhiddin was living in Aleppo by earning his life through shoe production. Seven years ago – in 2013 -, he immigrated to Turkey from Syria because of the civil war. When he came to Turkey, he first entered into Turkey through illegal ways since Turkey closed its Syrian border. Fortunately, his family was with him during this challenging and dangerous journey, and they stayed together until their arrival. Also, today they live in Sultanbeyli as a family, including a father, mother, and five children.

In Syria, he had also worked in the footwear industry. In fact, shoe manufacturing was a family business for him. Later, when the family shifted to the textile sector and started to involve in the textile sector, he left the shoe manufacturing sector and got into the textile trade. When he came to Turkey, the start was not easy; however, somehow, he managed to abide by his occupation. He found a job as a worker in another workshop with his friend’s help. He worked for the same company for two years, until he had established his own business. Starting his own business in the field where he has years of experience seemed more logical and profitable business to him, and he established his own company. Although he was happy to work in his own workshop, he was abstaining while working and always had to consider municipality inspections since he did not make the necessary registration. This situation was challenging, both mentally and financially.

Before joining the project, he did not have any prior knowledge about GIZ or United Work. Later, when his friend who had participated in the project before him informed him about the project, he wanted to be involved in this project and contacted United Work. He both filled the online application form and, taking United Work’s phone number from his friend, called them. Besides, once the project officers explained the project, he has learned about GIZ.

When he applied for the project, his business was entirely informal. He completed all the steps in the project and obtained the municipality license.  With the project support, the tax office and chamber registration were completed, the necessary inventory of the workplace (Fire Extinguisher and Pos Machine) was obtained, the work permit and the municipality license were obtained. Thanks to this support, Muhiddin’s workplace has started to work completely in accordance with the law. As he started working in accordance with the law, he became able to think differently about his job. Now, without fear, he wants to expand his business and produce more. In addition, support for COVID-19 has been seriously valuable support for him. With this support, especially at a time when business came to a standstill, he secured himself. For all these reasons, he is thrilled to participate in the project and would like to thank all the project partners and United Work employees. He also states that it would be very beneficial if this kind of project continues.

He has positive thoughts about the future. Since Muhiddin has Turkmen origin, he is fluent in Turkish, and for this reason, he can easily socialize with Turkish people. He also thinks that Turkish people are amiable and treat him well. In addition to social aspects, he wants to invest in his workshop for expanding the business; for this reason, he needs financial support. He believes that if he can access the necessary resources, the business would easily be turned into a more profitable one. In the future, he does not plan to return to Syria and want to stay in Turkey. However, he is not sure what life will bring since he lives under Temporary Protection. Still, as long as he can stay, he is happy to be here and wants to stay in Turkey.

Until 2014, he lived with his family in Aleppo, Syria, and was working in the furniture manufacturing and design sector. In 2014, when the Syrian civil war became unbearable for his family and himself, he had to leave his country as millions of Syrians. He decided to transit to Turkey and passed to Kilis province. Fortunately, he managed to stay with his family throughout their journey. Shortly after arriving in Kilis, the family thought that moving to Istanbul would be a better choice for their lives, and they moved to Istanbul.

Undoubtedly, it was not an easy task to arrive in another country as a refugee and start a brand new life. After coming to Turkey, he worked as a presser and sewer in a textile workshop. However, the prevalent informal work practice in the textile industry affected him adversely. While he was working there, he worked under the condition of low wages, long working hours, and insecurity. The poor working conditions inevitably affected his life as well. Later, he quit this job and started working as a tailor. However, he had to quit his job because he was not suitable for heavy working conditions and faced many health problems. In 2018, when he felt ready, he decided to start his own business and started his grocery shop. Still, until he participated in the project, he operated informally in his business for two years. Naturally, this situation led to both the indeterminacy of the future of the shop and the fear from relevant authorities.

He got acquainted with the project through a friend. When his friend explained the project that he has already participated in, he thought he needed such support and called the United Wok office. Afterward, the United Work team visited the workplace and explicitly explained the project firsthand. With the support of the project, he received a tax plate, registered to the chamber of handicraft, obtained the necessary inventory, obtained a work permit, and a municipal license. Thereby, he has begun operating more peacefully, has learned rules and regulations that businesses in Turkey subject to, has elicited the responsibilities of the entrepreneur in detail. As a result, now, he can make sales through the POS device and increase the shop’s income. Besides, the COVID-19 outbreak had a harmful economic impact on him, and the financial support provided within the scope of the project was useful backing to mitigate this impact.

Abdurrahman feels very happy to participate in the project. Because he had participated in similar projects before, but he always regretted it. He did not achieve anything at the end of the projects before, and the project implementers both did nothing and mistreated him. In the “Şirketim” project, he states that this situation is entirely different, the United Work team is highly organized, and they treat him very well. Therefore, he thanks everyone who works on the project and supports the project.

In general, he has a decent life in Turkey. However, it was not the same all the time. When he has improved his Turkish, his life in Turkey has also changed. In particular, in the first year of his arrival, he encountered many difficulties as he did not know the language very well. Nevertheless, he improved his language skills, have managed to overcome these problems, and has been able to develop good relationships with people. Besides, he also wants to expand his business. For this reason, he wants to open more branches in Istanbul. He is well aware that in order to achieve this goal, he must both create financial resources and learn more about the Turkish market. In the longer term, he wants to return to his country if the situation in Syria improves.

Ahmad was born in Aleppo in 1989 and received a high school degree there. In Syria, he used to work in the textile sector, concentrated explicitly on sportswear, and until his breakaway, he continued to adhere to his job. Today, he runs a grocery shop in Sultangazi, Istanbul, where he also lives.

However, as millions of Syrians, he obliged the leave Syria in 2016. He made entrance to Turkey through the countryside of Aleppo by oneself. The rest of the family followed his path a year after. Later, the family reunited in Istanbul. Today, he is single and lives with his mother, brother, and father.

In Syria, he used to an owner of a sportswear store. In Turkey, he did not think to work in any field except for his own shop. Reasonably, he immediately decided to establish a grocery shop since he has experience in running a business. In 2016, he established the shop; however, until the project, he did not make any registrations; in other words, the business was informal in all aspects. This situation generated significant risk for his business, and the business might be shut down by the related authorities at any time.

Before the project, he did not know the United Work and GIZ; once, one of the project field officers visited his shop, he learned about United Work, GIZ, and “Şirketim Project.” After listening to the project from the field officer, he could not decide to participate in the first thought. To overcome his indecision, he talked with his friends and brother, and following their advice, he returned a call to the United Work to express his opinion to join the project.

Within the scope of the project, he completed the shop’s tax office registration, chamber registration, work permit, municipality license, and necessary inventories. According to his evaluation, the project has genuinely been successful. It contributed to him in both legal and economic terms. Now, he is happy to run an entirely formal business, to leave behind all problems encountered because of the informality, and to complete all these processes with the help of significant financial support. Additionally, the financial support to subsidy project beneficiaries after the adverse financial effect of the COVID-19 outbreak has been seriously contributive to him. He thinks that in these uncertain days, this kind of support was a necessity and supportive, and it has reached the address at a very accurate time; otherwise, conditions would generate a serious risk, and he would have face the problem to sustain his shop. Therefore, he is really grateful to the project partners, and he would like to express his appreciations to them.

In the future, he envisions to expand his business by establishing new branches all around the city, wants to improve himself, and aims to contribute to himself and society. Besides, he has generally found Turkish people respectful, although it was a bit troublesome in the beginning because of the language barrier. Nevertheless, when he improved his Turkish, he started to communicate more with the Turkish people, and he received substantial support from them. In the near future, he plans to stay in Turkey because he is reluctant to return to Syria during the state of war. However, he states that, if one day, war ends and conditions in Syria improves, he would like to return back.

Before coming to Turkey, he used to live with his family in Aleppo. There, he was running a plastic recycling company. However, the civil war deeply affected his life, as millions of Syrian citizens. Due to the war, he first lost his job and then his house. These occurrences pushed him to leave his country. In 2013, together with his wife and only child, he crossed the border from the Bab al-Salameh region to Kilis. After staying in the Kilis for a while, he thought that it would be better to move to Istanbul.

Starting a new life in Turkey was not easy. Especially for a refugee who is obliged to leave his country, finding a decent job to earn his life and to be a part of social life is always challenging. In Turkey, his first job has been tailoring. However, his salary was not adequate, and he could not afford a decent life without the help of his friends. Afterward, he found a job in a car wash and started to work in two jobs at the same time. Later, he started working as a butcher. He was getting 1200 TL per month in this job and 100 TL financial support from the government; naturally, it was not enough. Besides, after settling in Istanbul, he had three more children. As the family grows, their needs increased, and one of their children has an illness. After learning the butchery as a profession, he decided to start his own business, thinking that starting his own business would be more profitable and could provide a better life for his family. While starting his own business was meaning more profit for him, it also meant more responsibility. Although he basically knew that there are responsibilities to fulfill both during the establishment phase and after, he did not take any action because he did not possess the necessary legislative information and could not afford those steps financially. He worked informally for more than one year, facing the difficulties of working informally.

Before the project, he had no prior knowledge about United Work and GIZ, did not know either of the institutions. However, when a project employee visited his workplace, he learned about the project and related organizations. Then, after thinking for a while, he decided that participating in the project would be beneficial for him; he contacted United Work. With the support of the project, he completed tax and chamber registration, acquired e-signature, POS device, and fire extinguisher, and issued a work permit and a municipal license. In fact, with the help of the formalization, he was proceeding peacefully and was enjoying working entirely formal. However, like the whole world, the pandemic affected him. The workplace was closed for a while due to the nationwide quarantine, which meant a serious loss of income. In order to overcome this situation, he sought a solution and worked as a taxi driver when his shop was closed. In this context, the COVID-19 financial support provided under the project has been significantly supportive of him. For this reason, it is grateful to everyone who contributed to the implementation of this project.

And when he asked about his future plans, he states that he is happy in his life in Turkey. He has a good relationship with everyone, especially as he improves his Turkish, he becomes more involved in social life and makes more friends. In addition, he wants to develop and expand his business by adding new products to his business. He wants to cover her income loss, especially during the pandemic period, by working harder for his children. In the longer future, he wants to go back to Syria when the war is over.

In Syria, he had a good life. He was living in Damascus with his family and running a women’s clothing store and plastic recycling company at the same time. However, during the war, his company was bombed, and nothing left for him. Therefore, he decided that staying in Syria would not be secure for his life and immigrated to Jordan. Later, in the sixth month of 2018, he and his family thought that moving to Turkey would be a better option for their family, and they moved to Istanbul, Turkey. Fortunately, he kept his family together during their journey to Turkey.

In Jordan, he could not pursue his profession. Life had been hard for him since he could not find a decent job there. To have a better life, he moved to Turkey. Firstly, he opened a workshop that manufactures underwear. However, it did not operate as he planned, and he closed the workshop. Later, he started to work for a houseware company and worked there for two and a half years. During these years, the pressure of work was high; there was no break, and the salary was low. Therefore, he decided that working for his own account would be much better for him; besides, he was an employer in Syria, and he was well experienced in running a business. In 2019, he established a grocery shop, including wholesale of food, beverages, and tobacco. Although he started his business, he operated informally for more than a year.

He was aware that establishing and running a business in Turkey requires to realize necessary legal registrations. However, he did not know how to realize these steps in related offices. Therefore, he could not complete and operated informally. For this reason, he could not add more products to his business; he felt hesitant to expand his business.

Prior to the project, he had no knowledge about United Work and GIZ. Once, project officers called him and invited him to the meeting at the hotel; he heard about them. After joining the meeting, he learned about GIZ, United Work, and the project. Later, he is convinced that participating in the project would remarkably contribute to his business. With the support of the project, he registered to tax office and chamber, obtained a work permit and license, and acquired a POS machine and fire extinguisher. In the end, his business has become entirely formal. Today, he can work without the pressure of the legal authorities, and he can think of expanding his shop instead of maintaining it. For this reason, he is grateful to all project partners; he mainly thanks project officers who helped him during all steps with patience and respect.

In the future, thanks to the support of the project, he wants to expand his business, to add new products, to open new branches, and to set up delivery services. In order to achieve this target, he requires developed financial resources and support. Additionally, the pandemic, as everyone in the world, influenced him directly. He has faced severe income loss, although the financial aid provided within the scope of the project covered some part of the loss. In social aspects, he has good relations with everyone in Turkey. He thinks that he would be able to offer a better future for his family here. Therefore, he wants to spend the rest of his life in Turkey and does not think of returning to Syria.

Monir was working as a barber while living in Syria. The civil war in Syria affected him, as millions of Syrians. War conditions were influenced him more than he can bear; for this reason, he decided to emigrate. He and his brother transit firstly to Lebanon, and then to Mersin, from there to Istanbul in 2015. Fortunately, the rest of the family joined them in Istanbul in 2016. He married after arriving in Turkey, and today he lives with his wife and 1-year-old child in Sultanbeyli.

In fact, he wanted to earn his living as a barber after coming to Turkey since he is experienced and feels happy in this profession. However, it was not an easy task to arrive in a country where he did not know the language, culture, and labor market or what he wants to do there. Since his Turkish was not very good, he could not find a job for a long time, and he had to work in alternative jobs when he was unemployed. He worked in the metal industry sector; he did metal processing and cutting for almost two years. This job was very difficult and not his original profession; therefore, he had struggled during his employment. Still, he continued to work in his business until the last month of 2018, until he got an opportunity and has started his own business. At that time, he quit his job and started his own barbershop. He was happy to be able to work in the field, which he knows, experienced, and feels happy to work.

When he started working at his own business, he had already been registered to the tax office. However, according to relevant laws in Turkey, having just a tax plate does not guarantee to have an entirely legal business. Being aware of this situation, Monir did not make other necessary registration due to inadequate economic resources and a lack of information. For this reason, when he opened his shop every day, he always had the thought of whether he would be fined or would be able to sustain the business in general.

Until the project field officers visited his workplace, he did not know anything about GIZ, United Work, or the “Şirketim” project. When the field team explained the project, although the supports provided was appealing, he could not trust at first. After field teams explained the project in detail, he did web research about United Work and GIZ and consulted with his friends; he decided to participate in the project.

When he joined the project, he only had a tax plate. However, with the support of the project, he registered the chamber, obtained the work permit and the municipal license, and completed the mandatory inventories that the workplaces should possess. In addition, the COVID-19 financial support provided within the scope of the project was also very useful for him. For these reasons, Monir sincerely states that the “Şirketim” project has been a successful project; it has been very supportive, pleasing, and beneficial for him to be freed from his legal concerns and to be supported economically during the formalization of his workplace.

In the near future, he wants to expand his business and open new branches in different districts of Istanbul. Although the COVID-19 outbreak has seriously impacted his business, he thinks he can cease this adverse impact and maintain his workplace with the help of the economic support of the project. As well as the economic aspects, he feels secured and happy in Turkey socially. Since he arrived in Turkey and has not encountered any problems, he has been able to develop a good and respectful relationship with the Turkish people. For this reason, it does not intend to return to Syria in the near future. In Turkey, he feels optimistic about his family’s future, and his desire to build a promising future for his child also reinforces his desire to improve his workplace. He just wants a peaceful life and a good future for his family. Nevertheless, he states that if the situations in Syria improve, he may consider returning.

Finally, Monir is delighted to participate in the project and thinks the project has genuinely been beneficial. For this reason, he thanks everyone who contributed to this project.

Before the war, when he lived in Aleppo, Syria, he was engaged in stonework and owned a marble factory. Being forced to flee from war in 2015, he immigrated to Turkey. He came to Mersin through Lebanon in 2015. After a short stay in Mersin, he moved to Istanbul. Having set out alone, Ahmad’s family remained in Syria. Fortunately, they followed him a year later, and the family was reunited in Istanbul. Today his wife and 11, 9, and 1-year-old three children live all together in Sultanbeyli, Istanbul.

The first years in Turkey have been substantially challenging for him. The most critical challenges were the language barrier and finding a decent job. Although he wanted to work in his field, he could not find a job in the stonework sector and turned to look at alternative sectors and jobs. Firstly, he worked in a flower shop as an employee, and later in the dessert shop. After learning about the dessert business, he quit his job in 2018 and started his own dessert shop.

Although he established his own shop, he could not practice any of the formalization steps for two years due to economic reasons and lack of adequate knowledge. For this reason, he was constantly worried about his job throughout the process and could not see his future. At the end of February, when the project field officers paid a visit to his shop, he learned about the “Şirketim” project, United Work and GIZ. He did not know about these organizations before. After listening to the project details explicitly from the field officers, he realized that it was what he truly needed, and he joined the project immediately. After participating in the project, tax and chamber registration, work permit application, municipality license, and procurement of necessary inventories were supported within the scope of the project, and the necessary formalization process was completed.

Evaluating the project as very successful in general, Ahmad states that the support provided in the project is essential and beneficial for him. Both the support in the formalization process and financial support have become lifeline support. If these supports were not provided, he would neither be able to realize legal registration procedures nor could withstand the adverse economic effects of the epidemic. Thanks to the project, now, he works and produces without fear and concern. He also thanks all project partners for their contribution to such a successful project.

In general, Ahmet has a decent life in Turkey. The social difficulties he experienced when he arrived considerably ceased as he learned the language, and the economic difficulties eased considerably off by participating in the project. Besides, he thinks that Turkish people are very hospitable and have a good and respectful relationship with everyone. For these reasons, he can imagine a promising future for himself and his family in Turkey. He wants to expand his shop, produce more products, and open new branches. He thinks that in this way, he can create a real future for his children. In the near future, he will definitely want to stay in Turkey, but if the war ends and the situation improves in Syria, he may think of returning to his country.

Before he obliged to immigrate to Turkey, he had a decent life in Syria. He graduated from elementary school, started his own furniture workshop, and had a good life with his family. However, the war entailed a grievous change in his life, as millions of Syrians.

In 2015, he was no longer able to bear adverse circumstances in Syria; hence, he decided to move to Turkey. Fortunately, he was able to manage to keep his family with him while leaving Syria. He moved to Turkey with his wife and two sons. Now, his older son is married, and he lives with his younger son and wife in Istanbul.

Since he left everything behind and had nothing economically and socially, starting a new life had not been easy in a country where a different language has been talked, and he had never been before. Prior to his attempt to start his own business, he worked for different companies, even the jobs were highly tiring, not decently paying, and he was not feeling comfortable. As he is significantly experienced in the furniture sector, he worked for companies specialized in furniture manufacturing. He was holding significant experience in both furniture manufacturing and running a business. For this reason, he started his own business in 2019 in Esenyurt, Istanbul. Since then, he feels more comfortable working on his own account. However, the responsibilities of the entrepreneur do not end with the establishment; indeed, they start right after the establishment. At this point, Abdulmanem had lacked to fulfill his responsibilities. Since he did not hold necessary registrations and inventories, he faced with the perpetual concern over the sustainability of his business and relatedly his life in Turkey.

He had no prior knowledge about United Work or GIZ until one of the field officers of the project paid a visit to his workshop. When he met with the field officer, he has learned about GIZ, United Work, and the “Şirketim” Project. After that, he thought that the project would be beneficial for him and decided to participate. Until the project, he had no ability to achieve the formalization process; therefore, the project’s support has been excellent for him; he received a work permit and other necessary legal documents to operate within the legal framework. He added a lot to himself, especially on rules and regulations in Turkey. He realized all necessary legal registrations, and the burden on his shoulders had been lifted. Thanks to the project, now, he works without any fear of being closed, he can dream of expanding his business.

On an economic aspect, in the future, he plans to expand his business if he can manage to reach necessary economic resources. He is planning to include necessary machinery and equipment regarding the upholstery because he holds the necessary experience and knowledge in this field, and it would have a significant effect on earning more in his business. In this context, he needs more economic support and investment. On a social aspect, he plans to stay in Turkey in the future. He thinks that he feels welcomed and has excellent and respectful relations with his neighbors in Turkey. Finally, he is grateful to all those involved and supported the project.

Until he obliged to leave Syria because of the civil war, he used to live in Al-Qatifa, Damascus. In 2015, he left Syria and immigrated to Turkey. He entered Turkey through the Qamishli border, and during his transit, he was alone.

Today, he lives in Esenyurt with a big family. The family involves a wife, three children in ages of 1,5, 3, and 5, 57 years old father, 49 years old mother, a widow sister, and her son; they all are living in the same flat.

Starting a new life in Turkey was not an easy task for him. Before he started his own shop, he worked for various companies as a worker. Although work was good and he was happy, he preferred to start a shop. He thought that it would be more comfortable and profitable. Besides, he used to work for an upholstery workshop in Syria, and he had the necessary skills and knowledge in this field of profession. Thereby, he established the business in February 2019. Until then to the project date, he worked informally; actually, he even did not have any idea over the obligatory business registrations.

Before one of the project officers visited his workshop, he did not know about United Work or GIZ. After the field officer’s visit, he learned the project, obligatory registrations, and United Work and GIZ. Then, he asked his friends and sister’s opinion. Following their advice, he decided to participate in the project immediately. In the end, he joined the project at the beginning of March, and from that day to today, his taxpayer registration, chamber of handicraft registration, work permit, and municipality license registration completed, as well as acquiring POS machine and fire extinguishers, with the support of the “Şirketim Project”; in other words, with the support of United Work and GIZ.

He depicts the project as a medicine that provides benefits in all aspects. During the project process, while he has learned legal terms in Turkish law, he completed all the necessary steps and inventories. All processes appropriately operated, and he did not face any problems either in the responsible government offices or with the work of project staff. Now, he is working without fear of the municipality since he knows that he is working fully legal, and he believes it would contribute to his business in terms of revenue, advancement, and improvement.

In the future, he wants to stay in Turkey because he feels being welcomed here, and he does not face any legal or personal disputes, although it was a bit difficult at the very beginning. Regarding his business, he would like to develop it, to manufacture better, and to have a better life. To expand his business, he requires more financial resources and improving his Turkish language skills. Besides, he would like to share his thanks with United Work and GIZ, especially for the financial support that is provided to remedy the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It had been a vital resource for ceasing the damage of the pandemic.