Participation Youth Development Program

The Participation Youth Development (KGG) program is a training program prepared in partnership with the Pres- idential Finance Office of the Republic of Turkey and the IFCap Building to develop the human resource potential in the field of participation finance, which is one of the two pillars of the Istanbul Financial Center project, and to increase awareness and financial literacy in this field.

Although the participation finance system has boosted in recent years, it is observed that the share of participation finance in the total financial system is still far below its potential. As stated in the Participation Finance Strate- gy Document, which will be published soon, increasing 

the positive perception, awareness and financial literacy towards participation finance and developing human re- sources in the field of participation finance are two es- sential strategic steps in the qualitative and quantitative development of participation finance. The KGG Program is primarily a project implemented to increase awareness and financial literacy towards participation finance. On the other hand, it is believed that the said program will posi- tively contribute to the development of human resources in participation finance.

The KGG Program, which aims to improve the human resource potential while increasing the participation fi- nance perception, awareness and financial literacy for young people, is the most comprehensive and broadly participated progam in its field to date. The KGG program, which is planned to be held at least twice a year until 2025, is aiming to provide these trainings to 10 thousand young people in total by the end of 2025.

All young talents under the age of 28, senior undergrad- uate, graduate/doctoral students or university graduates aiming for a career in finance, interested in participation in finance, or want personal development, can apply to the KGG Program. In addition, working in an institution or organisation does not constitute an obstacle to apply to the program.

In the first phase of the program, which consists of a two- stage training process, Participation Finance Basic Train- ing is given by industry professionals and academics who are experts in their fields to the participants who are eligible to enter the first 1,000 in the general talent exam among the candidates who apply to the program. In the second stage, the Certified Islamic Finance Talent Training is given by international trainers who are experts in their fields, to the participants who are in the first 100 of the midterm exams, the end-of-training general assessment exam and the English language exam during the first stage education process. Students who successfully complete the training are entitled to receive certificates in Turkish and English depending on their education level.

The first stage of education consists of three main sec- tions with the themes of past, present and future. In this context, the participants are provided with the opportunity to receive training from a broad perspective, from basic 

Islamic law knowledge to green finance and financial technologies. A 32-hour training and an 8-hour industry professional experience sharing seminar are given to the participants, with 16 courses included in the training pro- gram by industry experts and academics.

In the second stage, where the medium of instruction is English, participants are offered a 32-hour training op- portunity, which is more advanced than the first stage, by internationally recognised experts. Therefore, the second stage of the training is designed as an education program at international standards and one step ahead of financial literacy.

KGG Program offers its participants the opportunity to participation finance basic education following an inter- national perspective and local dynamics. The trainings, lay the foundation for the evaluation of the financial sector from a holistic perspective.

In addition to the training stages, there is also a project award competition for all participants who are accepted into the program. The project proposals prepared by the participants regarding participation finance are evaluated by the project evaluation committee, which consists of industry experts and academicians, and monetary awards are given to the top 3 projects. In the project award com- petition held in 2021,

a 30 thousand TL monetary award was given; in 2022, the total value of the project award that will take place has been determined as 43 thousand TL. In this context, 414 participants in the first stage of the KGG Program, the first of which was held in 2021, and 94 participants in the second stage were entitled to receive certificates. The first program was completed with the award ceremony held at Gaziantep University.

With the high demand for the KGG Program in 2021 and the aim of reaching 10 thousand young talents by the end of 2025, the second stage of the program will be held between May 14 and July 3, 2022. Each program is planned to end with an award ceremony at a different university.

As part of the KGG Program's contribution to the devel- opment of human resources in the field of participation finance, consultation meetings were held with participa- tion finance institutions and a working group was formed. In this context, various participation finance institutions provided trainer support for KGG trainings.

Presidency Finance Office of the Republic of Turkiye Participation Youth Development