What happened
BEST For Energy, an initiative led by İzmir Development Agency, has received the Outstanding Project award at the closing conference for the Competitive Sectors Programme. The programme was funded by the European Union and Türkiye and operated under the Ministry of Industry and Technology’s auspices.
Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır handed the award to Arın Hünler, acting secretary general of İzmir Development Agency, and Hazal Coşkun, secretary general of the Energy Industrialists and Businesspeople Association (ENSİA).
For businesses and organisations seeking further information on the project and its outcomes, the agency has published an announcement on the award and the related initiatives.
Why it matters
Delivered between 2020 and 2023 with a €3 million budget, BEST For Energy assembled renewable-energy equipment manufacturers within a single cluster. İzmir Development Agency says the cluster subsequently obtained €3.5 million in new international funding.
The work also brought together equipment manufacturers and service providers active in İzmir’s clean-energy and clean-technology sectors. The award highlights a local model that combined cluster development with access to external finance for the participating network.
For sustainability and industrial stakeholders in the region, the reported funding figures provide a measure of the project’s reach beyond its initial delivery budget. The announcement does not specify the individual funders or the allocation of the additional international finance.
Project context
İzmir Development Agency delivered BEST For Energy in partnership with ENSİA. The agency said it had received €8 million in EU support across three projects: BEST For Energy, INSPIRE and Create in İzmir.
INSPIRE focused on capacity development for the transformation of Türkiye’s creative economy. Create in İzmir was established as a digital entrepreneurship centre for cultural and creative industries, with İzmir University of Economics as lead organisation and the agency among its partners.
According to the agency, the three projects combined clean-energy and clean-technology clustering activity with policy-development work and entrepreneurship support for creative industries in İzmir and Türkiye.
