The project focused on the improvement of the competitiveness of selected small and medium Turkish enterprises (SME) on domestic and international markets.

This objective was achieved by providing practical-oriented training and counselling services. Furthermore, the project comprised support for the introduction of innovative approaches for regional economic development in the targeted Anatolian regions. The specific measure of the project component was defined as "Implementation of a practical-oriented training and counselling measure for selected small and medium sized enterprises (SME)" and for its achievement training and counselling services were provided to intermediary SME support organisations, on one hand, and directly to pilot-SME, on the other.

For each of the three project regions (Ostim near Ankara, Malatya and Kahramanmaras), the project selected one specific industrial sector. For each in turn, the provided services cover three sector-specific training and counselling modules (marketing, quality management and strategic business planning). After an assessment of pilot-SME with regard to export potentials and corporate performance, tailor-made concepts were designed and implemented for their promotion as well as for the promotion of SME support organisations (public as well as private).