Turkey's economic growth encourages the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to invest in innovation in the country. A high level delegation from the bank, including Chairman Suma Chakrabarti, paid a two-day visit to Turkey to discuss the bank's investment priorities with senior government officials, members of the business community and civil society organizations. The EBRD announced the program by saying that the visit underscores the bank's commitment to boosting the Turkish economy and supporting economic reform.During the visit, Chakrabarti noted that while the Turkish economy is growing fast, as the EBRD, they are investing in the innovations of Turkish companies in order to enable them to compete in the global market.Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Chakrabarti stated that in order to increase the competitiveness of Turkish companies, they have been investing in the research and development activities of companies including Ford Otosan, Türk Traktör and Vestel, and that they will continue to provide resources to innovative companies.Underlining the fact that there are various sectors and products with high export potential in Turkey, Chakrabarti said what was more important is how such potential can be realized. "The key to success in the global market is to improve value-added exports. This means higher energy efficiency investments, better corporate management and investing in R&D and innovation," said Chakrabarti. He also noted that they have realized that the long-term loans granted to SMEs were limited and therefore the EBRD is providing funding to agricultural businesses via loans through their partner banks. One of the funding schemes was through İş Bankası, equaling $127 million in loans granted to SMEs, including agricultural businesses.