DOI: 10.53443/anadoluibfd.1840387 ISSN: 2687-184X

FINANCIAL COMPETENCY OF PUBLICLY SUPPORTED HEALTHCARE ENTREPRENEURS: A SOCIAL MARKETING PERSPECTIVE ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUPPORT PROGRAMS

Sabit Uygun, Aykut Ekiyor, Esat Saygın, Metehan Tolon
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The aim of this research is to examine the financial sufficiency requirements of publicly supported healthcare entrepreneurs and evaluate the extent to which entrepreneurship support programs are compatible with social marketing principles. In the first part of the study, survey data obtained from 245 participants working in 144 healthcare startups operating in four technoparks and KOSGEB-supported entrepreneurship ecosystems in Ankara were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regression analyses in SPSS 21.0. The findings indicated high levels of financial awareness and moderate-to-high self-reported financial literacy, whereas objectively measured basic financial management knowledge remained low. The social and economic impacts dimension of financial literacy was identified as the strongest predictor of financial awareness, while financial competency gaps were more evident among low-income participants, micro-enterprises, less-educated entrepreneurs, and early-stage startups. In the second part, publicly available official documents of entrepreneurship support programs were evaluated using the National Social Marketing Centre's eight benchmark criteria. Although the programs clearly defined funding, mentoring, incubation, training, and investor access, the reviewed documents provided limited evidence of behavior change theory, entrepreneur insights, competition analysis, and motivation-based segmentation. The findings indicate a gap between perceived competence and objective financial knowledge. Accordingly, the study proposes segment-sensitive financial competency models incorporating diagnostic feedback, cash-flow and pricing practices, low-cost implementation opportunities, and milestone-based coaching. Financial education programs guided by social marketing principles and tailored to target groups can be developed, taking into account the impact of income and education disparities.

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