Supporting Local Communities

We believe in the importance of an empowered community for social and economic development. We implement joint projects with NGOs, international organizations and local communities that remove barriers to young generation’s progress

Digital Wings

Through collaboration with the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of National Education, Arçelik and Beko Turkey initiated the Digital Wings Project in 2019 with the technical assistance of Bilkom. The purpose of the project is to raise a generation equipped with 21st century skills, having high selfesteem, and familiar with technological developments. During 2021, eight textbooks were developed for four classes at different educational levels. Training programs will begin in 2022. 

Smart Board

Through our five-year collaboration with Turkey’s Ministry of National Education (MoE), which started in 2019, we have provided smart boards and Arsense™️ smart board software to schools to enable efficient and interactive learning experiences for students and teachers. In total, we have installed approximately 28.000 smart boards at more than 1,687 MoE schools countrywide. During 2021, private schools were in demand and more than 830 smart board were installed at that category.

Hack The Normal Africa

We have integrated our priorities into the new normal. We held the second Hack the Normal online hackathon in Africa in 2021, following the inaugural event in Turkey in 2020. We structured the project as an open innovation gateway for the African innovation ecosystem. Our aim was to make a positive impact by bringing together people with ideas for Africa's local challenges, and also to benefit the African innovation ecosystem by actively engaging around these problems.

More than 1,000 people were reached at the event, which was held in cooperation with 110 partners. Competitive teams, mentors and coaches from 52 different countries came together to find ways to adapt effectively to the challenges of the African region. Hackathon participants had the opportunity to develop new products, services and business models with commercial potential to overcome the challenges in financial solutions, and sustainable and healthy living. The participating teams received training in problem discovery and solution development, prototyping, and storytelling. In addition, they had the opportunity to develop their projects with the support of coaches and mentors who are experts in the fields of business,  technology, and design.

At the end of the Hack the Normal Africa, a total of nine idea development teams presented won the "proof of concept" award for their projects in the categories of Sustainable Living, Financia presented the products to the end-users, and the production processes of two projects remain in progress. Within the scope of the awards, five students began internships and 23 team members from six different teams had a chance to participate in a training program.