About Us

Marking its fourth year, the Ibrahim Bodur Social Entrepreneurship Awards presented jointly by Kale Group and Ashoka Turkey continue to reward promising social entrepreneurs in Turkey. Receiving applications from all over Turkey, the programme which was launched in memory of late founder of Kale Group Ibrahim Bodur , who passed away in 2016, has reached out to many social entrepreneurs. The Ibrahim Bodur Social Entrepreneurship Awards welcome all projects, in start-up or scale-up stage, without any category restrictions while also marking a first-of-its-kind with its collaboration award. The total prize money for each category is 50,000 TL, reaching a total of 150,000 TL.

Kale Group’s founder Ibrahim Bodur, who passed away in 2016, has a proven track-record throughout his business life that he first stepped into at the age of 27 in Çan, inhabited by only 900 people. Working relentlessly for the future of more than 5,000 people working in the 17 companies that he established is just one side of this success. “Uphold the core values that make you who you are because they are what will keep you up and standing, just like the roots of a tree.” With this belief, Bodur never stopped serving the land where he was born. He believed it was incumbent upon him to not only boost the economy but also social and cultural life while also improving social welfare and education. Bringing industry to the doorstep of the workforce, Ibrahim Bodur was one of the pioneers of local development thanks to a range of investments in various cities spanning Çanakkale to Mardin, Erzurum, Isparta and other Anatolian cities. Ibrahim Bodur never made do with merely understanding the values of his homeland and the people he worked with. Instead, he always strived to add value to them. Ibrahim Bodur was honoured with many rewards from across the world, including the Medal of Merit from Czechoslovakia, Cavaliere del Lavoro (Order of Merit for Labour) from Italy, Order of Merit from the Republic of Turkey, and the International Aldo Villa Award. Also the founder of the Kaleseramik Education, Health and Social Assistance Foundation, Dr. (h.c.) Ibrahim Bodur’s global vision, courage and philanthropy still continue to be a source of inspiration for thousands of more seeds to sprout.