An energy-efficiency upgrade, a solar array, waste-heat recovery, a sensor line that collects production data, software that measures your carbon footprint. Most concrete steps of green and digital transformation share one trait: they need money up front. For exporters this is no longer optional — the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) entered its definitive period on 1 January 2026, and large EU customers now ask suppliers for emissions data.
You don’t have to draw the whole amount from your own equity. In Türkiye, financing for green transformation works through two different logics: on one side, non-repayable grants and support programs; on the other, favourable-term loans and funds. We covered the grant side in an earlier piece on digital and green transformation support. This article deals with the second group: development-bank loans, equity funds, and commercial banks’ green loan products.
The difference between a grant and a loan
Before deciding, it helps to separate the logic of the two instruments. A grant is not repaid, but its scope is narrow, its budget limited and competition high; it usually depends on a specific call period and a maturity requirement. A loan is repaid, but it covers the larger part of an investment, its terms are more favourable than most commercial credit, and it can be available year-round.
| Criterion | Grant / non-repayable support | Green loan / fund |
|---|---|---|
| Repayment | None | Yes, but favourable rate/term |
| Typical size | Small–medium | Medium–large |
| Access | Tied to a call period | Usually year-round |
| Prerequisite | Maturity report, eligibility | Measurable environmental impact |
In practice the two do not exclude each other. The common approach: finance the preparation and pre-assessment stage with a grant, and scale the actual investment with a green loan. In both cases the same thing sits at the heart of the application — being able to show that the investment has a measurable environmental return.
The World Bank Green Industry Project
One of the largest multilateral sources for greening industry in Türkiye is the Türkiye Green Industry Project, approved by the World Bank in 2023. Its total size is 450 million US dollars, across three components:
- KOSGEB component — 250 million dollars: Loans for businesses’ green transformation investments.
- TÜBİTAK component — 175 million dollars: Green innovation, R&D and mentoring activities.
- Ministry of Industry and Technology component — 25 million dollars: Overall coordination and technical support.
The areas the loan component supports include renewable energy, resource efficiency, waste management and the circular economy. The project runs for five years. Because the current terms on the KOSGEB side — ceiling, interest, eligible cost items, application calendar — are updated periodically, they should be confirmed from kosgeb.gov.tr and the official project pages before applying.
Unlike grant programs, this project is a credit mechanism: a source designed to scale an investment, repaid but on favourable terms.
EBRD and development-bank green loans
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) finances green investment in Türkiye mostly through local banks. Its best-known framework is the Green Economy Financing Fund (GEFF). Channelled through intermediaries such as TSKB, this fund focuses on energy efficiency, renewable energy and climate-resilience investments.
What the intermediary-bank model means in practice: you apply for the loan through the bank you already work with, or one that takes part in the program; that bank runs the eligibility assessment; the funding comes from the international pool. Because fund sizes and agreement amounts are renewed from time to time, it is best to track current figures from the relevant bank’s and EBRD’s official announcements.
These funds share another trait: you usually need to prove that the investment delivers a specific energy or emissions improvement, often through an eligibility list or a technical assessment. In other words, access to financing is directly tied to measurement and reporting discipline.
The Türkiye Green Fund and equity financing
Not every investment is financed as a loan. For growing firms, another route is equity (capital) financing. On this side, one prominent initiative in Türkiye is the Türkiye Green Fund, led by TSKB, which aims to support firms’ green transformation through equity investment. In 2023 the World Bank also provided a separate source to expand this kind of equity finance.
Because fund sizes and new-investor participation change over time, current status should be confirmed from the fund’s and TSKB’s official statements. Equity financing generally suits more corporate, larger-scale businesses; for a smaller manufacturer, the first stop is usually the loan side.
Commercial banks’ green loans
Alongside development-bank sources, commercial banks increasingly offer green loans and sustainability-linked loans. There is a subtle but important difference between the two:
- Green loan: The funding is allocated to a defined green investment (renewable energy, efficiency, clean production).
- Sustainability-linked loan: The loan’s interest terms are tied to the business reaching predefined sustainability targets (for example, a certain emissions reduction).
In the second model, an interest advantage kicks in once the target is met — but that too requires being able to measure, document and report performance during the year. On the banking-regulation side, green finance is also becoming more structured, which means the quality of environmental data expected from manufacturers will rise over the medium term.
The prerequisite for financing: measurable data
One demand recurs across all these sources. A development-bank loan, and a sustainability-linked commercial loan alike, expect you to show the environmental impact of the investment in numbers: how much energy saved, how much emissions reduced, against which baseline.
This is the real bottleneck for most manufacturers. The investment decision may be made, but the foundation that strengthens an application — consistent, auditable data collected from the plant — is often not ready. Metering electricity and gas consumption at process level, collecting data automatically from the production line, calculating the carbon footprint on a Scope 1-2-3 basis — this is the infrastructure to build before applying for financing.
This is also where digital and green transformation meet in the same project. A measurement layer both proves the investment’s environmental return and makes the financing application documentable.
What İkiz Eksen does
İkiz Eksen works at exactly this junction: it measures data on the ground, turns it into value on the digital transition side with ERP, machine communication and automation, and builds CBAM and CSRD compliance on the green transition side. It prepares the measurable data foundation a financing application expects, and runs projects end to end across Türkiye.
This experience comes from long-running ERP work at ZE Bilgi Teknolojileri and Qera — more than 550 customers, over 15 sectors, more than 100 ERP deployments. The infrastructure runs on Microsoft Azure.
We can work out together which source to target and with what data to prepare. Take a look at our solutions, or get in touch — let’s talk through your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a green loan and a grant?
A grant is not repaid, but its budget and scope are limited and it usually depends on a call period. A green loan is repaid, but it covers the larger part of an investment and its terms are more favourable than most commercial credit. Most businesses finance preparation with a grant and the main investment with a loan.
How do you apply to the World Bank Green Industry Project?
The SME-loan component is run by KOSGEB. Because current terms, ceilings and the calendar change periodically, they should be confirmed from kosgeb.gov.tr and the official project pages before applying.
What do I need in hand to apply for a green loan?
Most financing sources expect you to show the energy or emissions improvement of the investment in numbers. So metering consumption and production data — and, where possible, having calculated the carbon footprint — before applying clearly strengthens the case.
Can I trust these amounts and terms?
The project sizes in this article are based on the official statements of the World Bank, KOSGEB and TÜBİTAK. However, fund sizes, interest and application terms are updated over time. Confirm from the relevant institution’s current page or a finance advisor before applying.
Can I apply without a measurement layer?
Technically you can, but an application not backed by data has low chances of acceptance and weak bargaining power. Building the measurement layer before the financing application both strengthens the case and makes the investment’s return provable later.
Sources
- World Bank — Türkiye Green Industry Project (450 million dollar approval, 2023)
- KOSGEB — announcement of 450 million dollar support for green transformation in industry
- TÜBİTAK — World Bank Green Industry Project information page
- TSKB / EBRD — Green Economy Financing Fund (GEFF) and Türkiye Green Fund announcements