İHKİB Innovation and Design Center, which gathers İHKİB's activities in the fields of textile, ready-made clothing, fashion, education and digitalization under one roof in an area of 14 thousand square meters, was opened with the participation of Minister of Commerce Ömer Bolat and Minister of Industry and Technology Kacır.
Speaking at the opening of the center, which was implemented in Bağcılar Mahmutbey, Minister Kacır said that he believed that the center would bring together the deep-rooted production experience of the textile and ready-made clothing industry with design, technology and innovation, and make significant contributions to the sector's value-added production and branding journey.
Stating that the center will provide services in a wide range from training to design, from testing and verification services to digital transformation, Kacır said, "Under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, we have implemented steps that have expanded our country's production capacity in 23 years, advanced the technology development ability of our industry and increased our competitiveness in global markets." he said.
Kacır noted that they have taken Türkiye to a leading position in the global production and technology race with its planned industrial areas, technology development zones, R&D and design centers, qualified human resources and developing entrepreneurship ecosystem, and that today Türkiye is an indispensable part of global value chains with its wide production capabilities, innovative industrial infrastructure and effectiveness in international markets.
Stating that Türkiye is the leading exporter country in terms of product and market diversity in the wide belt extending from China to Central Europe, Kacır said, "Undoubtedly, our textile and ready-made clothing sector has an exceptional place with the leading role it has undertaken in our country's industrialization journey and the contributions it offers to our economy." he said.
Kacır pointed out that the geography in which Türkiye is located has been among the important centers of weaving, craftsmanship and trade for centuries, and said that with the courage of the entrepreneurs, the effort of the industrialists and the labor of the employees, they turned this deep-rooted heritage into a great production power that has a say in the world markets.
Minister Kacır said that the textile and ready-made clothing industry is among the dominant sectors of the economy with its production capabilities, trained human resources and experience in international markets, and added:
"Our ability to carry this precious legacy we inherited from the past to the future depends on preparing our industry for changing competitive conditions and transforming our deep-rooted production experience into higher added value through design, technology and branding. Today, the global textile and ready-made clothing industry is undergoing a radical change. Digital technologies are reshaping all links of the industry, from design to production, from supply chains to consumer experience. In today's world, where the effects of climate change are increasingly felt all over the world, sustainable production and resource efficiency also direct the future of the industry.
As a matter of fact, our biggest export market, the European Union, is implementing new regulations for the textile and ready-made clothing industry in line with its green transformation targets. For permanent success in the textile and ready-made clothing industry, where there is fierce competition on a global scale, we must together build an industrial structure that increases efficiency in production, uses resources effectively, develops innovative products and creates brand value on a global scale. "As the Ministry, we are taking steps that will accelerate this transformation of our sector and facilitate our businesses' access to technology and innovative production infrastructures."
Minister Kacır stated that they have paved the way for 1.7 trillion lira of investment and approximately 1 million employment in the textile and ready-made clothing sector in the last 23 years with investment incentives, and that they have provided 3.8 billion lira of support to 634 projects aimed at improving the production capacity, efficiency and innovation capabilities of the sector through development agencies.
Stating that in the 2025 call of the Local Development Move Program, they included 13 projects to be implemented in Istanbul under the titles of creative industries, design and fashion centers and qualified cultural industries, Kacır said, "In our 2026 call, we received 27 project applications on investment in creative industries in Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir, Mardin and Nevşehir. These projects, whose evaluation processes are ongoing, have an investment of 18.4 billion liras and an additional staff of 1137 people." "It has employment potential." made his statements.
Kacır said that these steps towards the development of design and creative industries complement the supports that increase the R&D, technology development and innovation capacity of the textile and ready-made clothing industry, and that 69 companies operating in technoparks contribute to the development of new technologies in the textile field and the commercialization of innovative solutions.
Kacır mentioned that 76 R&D and 60 design centers operating in the sector have moved the value-added production infrastructure forward by transforming their knowledge into innovative products and original designs, and stated that they have supported 4 projects with a total size of 28.5 million euros that will accelerate the digital and green transformation of the sector and increase its innovation capacity and international competitiveness through the European Union Pre-Accession Assistance Instrument programs.
Minister Kacır made evaluations about the center, which was opened today, and said, "İHKİB Innovation and Design Center is an important infrastructure that brings together the achievements of the From Design to Production: Digital Transformation of the Ready-Made Clothing and Textile Sector Project within the scope of the Competitive Sectors Program and the services needed by our sector under the same roof." he said.
Stating that Ekoteks, where they developed the technological infrastructure and increased the testing and verification capacity at international standards, contributes to businesses to demonstrate product quality and reliability and to comply with the technical requirements sought in international markets, Kacır said that İHKİB Digital Transformation Center, established with the support of the Ministry, guides businesses to adopt digital technologies, modernize their production processes and increase their efficiency.
Kacır said that Istanbul Fashion Academy, where they enriched the training curriculum with innovative digital fashion design programs within the scope of the project in question, contributed to the transformation of the sector from design to production by improving the digital competencies of designers and businesses.
Providing information about İHKİB Academy, the fourth structure within the center, Kacır said, "It plays an important role in meeting the qualified workforce needs of our sector with its vocational training and continuous development programs and in helping our employees adapt to changing technologies and production processes." he said.
Minister Kacır stated that they have completed these achievements regarding the digital transformation of the sector with new studies in the field of green transformation and sustainable production and said, "In this direction, we implemented a new project within the scope of IPA III in November last year. With our project with a budget of 7 million euros, we aim to contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of our textile and ready-made clothing industry and developing sustainable production capabilities." he said.
Stating that IHKİB is the coordinator of MIDAS, one of the 8 European Digital Innovation Centers established in Türkiye within the scope of the Digital Europe Program, Kacır said, "Our businesses will benefit from the training, design, testing and verification opportunities offered by the new center, while on the other hand, they will have the opportunity to develop closer collaborations with Europe's wide technology and innovation ecosystem." he said.
Kacır emphasized that with the Credit Financing and Employment Protection Program for the Manufacturing Industry, they increased the support amount per employee offered to businesses in the textile, clothing, leather and furniture sectors to 3 thousand 500 liras and included large-scale companies in the program, and said that they offered loans with favorable conditions up to 50 million liras to SMEs and large-scale enterprises with the financing leg of the program.
Kacır stated that with this application, they provided 10.8 billion liras of support to 11 thousand 530 businesses operating in the textile and ready-made clothing sector, protected 540 thousand jobs and created an additional 29 thousand 300 jobs, and talked about other supports provided.
