Earth Day blog: ELEVATE builds resilient and sustainable futures through women's entrepreneurship

The world today faces a convergence of crises—ranging from devastating natural disasters to global pandemics and the escalating consequences of climate change. These disruptions disproportionately affect vulnerable populations and threaten the progress made toward sustainable development. On 6 February 2023, a powerful series of earthquakes struck Kahramanmaraş in southern Türkiye, affecting 11 provinces. Hatay emerged as the most severely impacted region, with over 48,000 businesses destroyed.

Women entrepreneurs—particularly those leading Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)—were among the hardest hit. According to the UN Women Türkiye Report (2023), 88% of women entrepreneurs, including those with refugee status, reported significant business disruption. Alarmingly, 50% of those who paused operations post-disaster indicated they were unable to resume their businesses. Their recovery hinges not only on infrastructure but also on sustained support in promotion, market access, counselling, and management tools.

In response, the ELEVATE project—led by the University of Wolverhampton—was launched with a mission to empower women-led MSMEs in Hatay. The project seeks to strengthen digital capacity, facilitate sustainable business recovery, and promote inclusive economic growth in post-disaster contexts.

Project objectives:

• Build Digital Capacity: Through tailored training and tools, women entrepreneurs gain essential digital skills for operating in a post-crisis economy.
• Enable Sustainable Market Access: By deploying strategic marketing solutions, MSMEs improve their visibility and competitiveness.
• Support Business Resilience: Counselling and business development resources strengthen leadership and adaptability for long-term survival.

ELEVATE is grounded in a human-centred, Open Innovation and Design methodology, delivered in four key stages: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver. Six interlinked work packages ensure ongoing engagement with women entrepreneurs to co-create contextually relevant solutions. A digital literacy gap analysis informs the toolkit design, which is then implemented and monitored to assess business impact and foster continuous improvement.

The project is co-led in Türkiye by Cappadocia University (KUN) and is supported by a consortium of strategic partners: Tech West Midlands (TechWM), UK, Mustafa Kemal University (HMKU), Türkiye, CARE International, Türkiye, Women Entrepreneurs Production and Management Cooperative (Antiokhia), Türkiye.

The impact of ELEVATE transcends academic boundaries. By supporting the recovery of women-led businesses, the project contributes to Türkiye’s post-earthquake economic revival, promotes gender equity in entrepreneurship, and lays the foundation for a more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable business ecosystem.

This Earth Day, ELEVATE stands as a powerful example of how digital innovation, inclusive partnerships, and community co-creation can transform adversity into opportunity—paving the way for recovery that is not only faster, but fairer, greener, and more sustainable.

Read more about ELEVETE here 

Watch a video about the groundbreaking work here 

END

• Prof Roya Rahimi is Professor of Marketing and Leisure Management (Faculty of Arts, Business and Social Sciences) at the University of Wolverhampton, and Principal Investigator of the ELEVATE project. 
• Dr Samia Mahmood is Senior Lecturer in Accounting and Finance (Faculty of Arts, Business, and Social Sciences) at the University of Wolverhampton, and Co-Investigator on the ELEVATE project.