Leading Turkish e-commerce platform Trendyol and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched a new project that will employ digital technology to increase employment, improve production, protect cultural values and raise living standards in the villages of Türkiye.
The initiative, named "Villages of Tomorrow" combines Trendyol's technological competencies with UNDP's on-the-ground experience in rural development.
It will establish digital centers in targeted villages to make digital technologies accessible for all. The centers will take an inclusive approach, seeking to engage youth, women and persons with disabilities.
One focus will be applying technology to improve production culture. Local producers will receive training in areas such as e-commerce, e-export, product development, marketing, branding, packaging, finance and quality control. Village products with a distinctive Anatolian branding will find a direct path to end consumers.
The digital centers will also disseminate smart agricultural practices, helping local farmers increase yields, reduce costs and protect nature. Coding, algorithm and robotics workshops will be organized for village children and digital art workshops for youth. The centers will also offer digital applications for education and health services and computerized product design.
"We aim to reach over 1 million people in five years," said Trendyol founding partner Begüm Tekin.
"As a globalizing company born in Türkiye, we want to ensure that the products crafted in our land reach more people and find their real value. As a technology company, our focus is on closing the digital divide. With UNDP, we aim to improve the well-being of people well beyond our pilot villages and reduce disparities between urban and rural areas," she said.
UNDP Türkiye Resident Representative Louisa Vinton, for her part, said Turkish villages are full of creative energy, "But often they lack the bridge they need to gain access to domestic and foreign markets for their products, and residents are missing out on digital innovations that urban dwellers routinely enjoy."
"By partnering with Trendyol, UNDP aims to use digital tools to build that bridge and show how villages can avoid being left behind on the path to prosperity," Vinton said.
Launching initially in three pilot villages in southern Adana, southeastern Diyarbakır and western Izmir provinces, Villages of Tomorrow aims eventually to reach a total of 10 villages over five years. For each village, three focus products will be selected for development for the first year of the project. Neighboring villages will also benefit. It is foreseen that the share of new e-commerce entrepreneurs in the villages will increase by 60% by the time the project is completed.