Since the Syrian crisis, around 4 million refugees have been living in Turkey, more than 3.6 million of them from Syria alone, including 1.2 million school-age children. Turkey is currently the largest refugee host country in the world. Germany and the EU are helping the country to overcome the challenges presented by the refugee crisis and to integrate the refugees. KfW has been implementing refugee support projects on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and under the EU-Turkey Agreement (FRIT Facility) since 2015. The aim is to create opportunities for Syrian refugees in Turkey through schooling and vocational training as well as by providing the respective infrastructure. At the same time, local communities are helped to cope with population growth - in some regions it has grown by as much as 100%.
As part of the BMZ’s Middle East/Turkey Cash-for-Work Programme, KfW Development Bank is helping to create job opportunities in the host communities and to improve living conditions. For example, refugees are supported in setting up a business through advanced training or start-up financing, or are placed in regular employment. Some of the measures are implemented by United Nations organisations such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO). KfW also supports UNICEF in improving the educational opportunities for refugee children through, for example, the participation of Syrian assistant teachers. In addition, KfW, in cooperation with the WHO, provides healthcare for refugees and trains Syrian medical staff in this project, who can then be integrated into the Turkish healthcare sector.
Investments in municipal and social infrastructure are being funded under projects to take care of and integrate refugees in Turkey, particularly in the education sector.
KfW is financing the construction of as many as 348 pre-schools and schools as well as the energy-efficient refurbishment of existing schools with grants from the EU and its member states via the FRIT Facility (Facility for Refugees in Turkey) and the MADAD Trust Fund (EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis), and in cooperation with the Turkish Ministry of Education (MoNE).
In cooperation with the MoNE, KfW is also supporting vocational education and training as an important element of integration into the labour market by equipping at least 50 vocational schools and providing scholarships for Syrian and Turkish young people.
It would be difficult to meet the challenges of the refugee crisis without the involvement of the private sector. A project implemented by KfW in cooperation with ILO is helping to integrate Syrian refugees and Turkish citizens into the primary labour market. Another goal of cooperation with Turkey is to strengthen the financial standing of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to create jobs in the host communities.
In addition, KfW cooperates with Turkish banks that specialise in promoting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). As a result of this growing and partnership-based cooperation, jobs are being created and retained, production capacities modernised and the living conditions of the poorer population improved, especially in rural areas. In the context of the refugee crisis, both the poverty-stricken Turkish population and the Syrian refugees benefit from job creation and employment.
Project information – Education for All in Times of Crisis (PDF, 146 KB, non-accessible)
Project information – Supporting Syrian volunteer teachers in Turkey (PDF, 158 KB, non-accessible)
Factsheet – German development cooperation in the education sector in Turkey (PDF, 85 KB, accessible)
