“Villages of Tomorrow” project will open digital transformation opportunities for Turkish villages to support development

3 November 2022, İstanbul - Trendyol, a leading e-commerce platform, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today 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 combines Trendyol's technological competencies with UNDP's on-the-ground experience in rural development.

The “Villages of Tomorrow” project will establish digital centres in targeted villages to make digital technologies accessible for all. The centres 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 centres will also disseminate smart agricultural practices, helping local farmers increase yields, reduce costs and protect nature. And coding, algorithm and robotics workshops will be organized for village children and digital art workshops for youth. The centres will also offer digital applications for education and health services and computerized product design.

Launching initially in three pilot villages in Adana, Diyarbakir and Izmir provinces, Villages of Tomorrow aims eventually to reach a total of ten villages over five years. For each village, three focus products will be selected for development for the first year of the project. Neighbouring villages will also benefit. It is foreseen that the share of new e-commerce entrepreneurs in the villages will increase by 60 percent by the time the project is completed.

“We aim to reach over one 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 wellbeing of people well beyond our pilot villages and reduce disparities between urban and rural areas.”

“Turkish villages are full of creative energy,” said UNDP Türkiye Resident Representative Louisa Vinton. “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.”