The official opening ceremony of Bingöl İŞGEM was successfully held on the 12th December 2017 in Turkey. Bingöl İŞGEM, established under the relevant Technical Assistant project led by PLANET, is co-funded by the Republic of Turkey and the European Union. The Contracting Authority of the project is the Turkish Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology and the End Recipient of Assistance is Fırat Development Agency. Main shareholders of Bingöl İŞGEM are  Bingöl Special Provincial Administration, Municipality and the Chamber of Trade and Industry.

The opening speeches of the event were delivered by the General Secretary of Fırat Development Agency, Mesut Öztop, Chairman of Bingöl Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mahmut Ayas, Head of Financial Affairs Department of Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, Ahmet Alperen Sağkaya, Bingöl Mayor, Yücel Barakazi, Deputy Minister of Development, Yusuf Coşkun, Bingöl Governor Ali Mantı, Bingöl Deputy and AK Party General Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz. All of the prestigious speakers highlighted the importance of the new establishment, as an exceptional development initiative for the province and its people.  Among others, the ceremony was attended by representatives of enterprises operating in Bingöl, representatives of professional associations, university students as well as citizens from the area.

The overall objective of the project is to support the institutional set-up of  Bingöl Business Development Centre (İŞGEM) including the development of a sustainable business plan for its operation, provision of support in the recruitment and capacity building of İŞGEM staff and the provision of support in the identification of tenants and strengthening of their technical capacities via training, mentoring and business development consultancy services. It is estimated that over 220 people will be employed through the İŞGEM project during the first years of its operation.