Migros, one of Turkey’s leading food retailers, will expand its operations using a €60mn loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the lender has said.
The company said it was aiming to step up efforts to employ a gender-balanced workforce and further enhance the energy efficiency of its store network with the financing.
The EBRD loan will support Migros in developing and implementing an equal opportunities action plan, which will set out gender-responsible recruitment strategies and open up more job opportunities for women.
The retailer is planning to hire over 2,000 women to fill new positions created as a result of burgeoning demand for grocery shopping.
In order to meet customer demand boosted by the coronavirus pandemic, and in line with its sustainability strategy, the company aims to open new stores and refurbish others, and to embed renewable energy systems and energy-saving technologies.
Migros operates in 81 Turkish provinces, through a network of 2,286 food retail stores under the Migros, Migros Jet, 5M and Macrocenter banners.
To date, the EBRD has invested almost €13bn in Turkey through 334 projects, with 95% of these in the private sector.
In 2020, the lender responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by expanding its financing in the country to €1.7bn from €1bn across 35 projects in 2019.
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