Analysing Iraq’s Startup Ecosystem
Zahra Shah, Founder and Executive Director of Iraqi Innovators, has been working in startups and emerging markets for over 10 years, and has a special focus on building tech and startup ecosystems in areas particularly affected by conflict.
After working at one of the fastest growing startups in the world — although she enjoyed that fast paced environment, Zahra realised that the focus on profitability and revenue wasn’t really her thing. She ended up doing an internship with the UN in the Netherlands, which was her first experience with the public sector, and knew from there that’s what she wanted to do.
“I found an organisation that kind of merged my love for tech and humanitarian work. And it was in the Gaza Strip. And at the time, I was settled in Jordan with my husband, I was working remotely. But then I found the opportunity to lead a coding bootcamp in Erbil in North Iraq. And that’s when my journey in Iraq started.”
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Listen to the full podcast episode on :
Spotify: http://bit.ly/40tmRqj
Google: https://bit.ly/3MyLURv
Amazon: http://bit.ly/3TFBzs5
Apple: https://bit.ly/3Qf0st1
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Fatema: Can you tell us more about the work that Iraqi innovators does?
Zahra: We have three verticals. The first one is the content, the blog and the platform that we’ve developed to, as you said, in the beginning, you know, showcase Iraqi stories of amazing entrepreneurs running fantastic businesses in some of the most challenging environments. We also focus on #WomenInTech. And our goal is really to just amplify Iraqi voices and provide role models for youth in Iraq, especially, so most of our readership and our audience, are youth from Iraq.
Our second vertical is the trainings that we deliver. So our focus has been to up-skill youth, women and jobseekers, especially in digital skills, because the goal is that we want to support them to enter the digital economy and be able to access employment that is also remote and online, rather than always having to rely on the local economy.
And then our third vertical and something we want to launch within the next couple of years is a women’s only co working space. And the idea there is really just to provide women with a safe space that they can work, learn, network with other people, like minded women, provide childcare, and just really give easy access to the world of work because the number of women in the workforce in Iraq is very, very low compared to the rest of the region. And there’s a lot of barriers to entry, and having a women’s only space would make it much easier for women to upskill and also get access to employment.
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Wil: For any of our listeners who may be unfamiliar with Iraq and its startup ecosystem, how would you describe it, and to you what makes what makes it special?
Zahra: So it’s still a very nascent scene. But what makes it special is that you have entrepreneurs who are building companies in a very challenging environment. And they are literally the leaders of this ecosystem, changing how users interact with technology from making purchases online to ordering a taxi. And they’re also changing the way the government and nonprofits get involved in the tech and startup sector.
What also makes it unique is that you’ve got entrepreneurs creating businesses in really tough situations. And one entrepreneur who actually inspired the Iraqi innovators blog was launching the Amazon of Mosul, soon after ISIS was removed. And he was operating in a city that was, you know, 95%, destroyed, but delivering schoolbooks and electronics all over the city. And it was just astonishing. And I wondered, why is no one screaming this from the rooftops that someone’s decided to launch this business in a very, very difficult place.
You know, when we often assess how successful startup ecosystems are, we’re measuring them by number of investments, number of exits, basically very capitalist terms —
“But for me, the success of Iraq’s ecosystem lies in the number of entrepreneurs and businesses that can continue operating in an environment that was very volatile, but also so diverse from city to city and persevere.”
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Fatema: What would you say is holding Iraq’s ecosystem back?
Zahra: I think one of the biggest things is probably education. The education system is still quite outdated, though there are many efforts to encourage more of an entrepreneurial attitude amongst students. Talent isn’t a massive challenge, but I think the biggest challenge is mindset. I think it will take some time for youth, especially older people, who then pass on their thoughts to youth and their children, to adopt these new ways of doing things, for example, buying online in general, e-payments.
Other weaknesses are more related to like a lack of regulations to support startups and lack of financing for specially growth stage startups. And that struggle of adopting e-payments at a wider scale, which makes it really challenging to, you know, get rid of that cash on delivery model that a lot of businesses working on buying have to still rely on to get the money in the end.
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Wil: What would you say is most needed to support the Iraqi youth or women trying to enter into the tech ecosystem or the startup ecosystem?
Zahra: I think at the moment, the efforts that have been made to date have definitely been moving in the right direction. But it’s such a big country with over 42 million people, that those efforts need to be replicated in smaller towns and cities. Because at the moment, a lot of the international funding and the support is going to Baghdad, it’s going to Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Mosul, a little bit to Basra. But there’s a lot of cities in between those major cities that need more support, whether that’s you know, a co working hub or space to bring these people together and as we mentioned, as well, that the lack of safe spaces for women, that’s a big factor if we want more women to enter the tech space.
And I think also what’s needed are more community initiatives and events with sort of funding opportunities, for example, hackathons, just to kind of introduce more people into the tech space.
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Fatema: If you had to give one piece of advice for anyone looking to start a business in Iraq, what would it be?
Zahra: I’d say, do your homework and build connections with people across the country, the startup bubble is still very small, and everyone tends to know each other, and kind of recycle through different programmes. But it’s useful to get their insight and advice to understand the gaps in the market before you launch your product or service. And then just take the risk and do it. But you really need to leverage your network. It’s so important in Iraq to be successful, to make sure that you know the right people that can get you through any particular barriers.
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Fatema: Since working in Iraq, what changes have you seen to the local ecosystem?
Zahra: So when I started working there, in 2017, there was one incubator just starting out, there was no co working space at that time. And entrepreneurship as a terminology was very, very new. But now, there’s multiple co working spaces in different parts of the country, there’s multiple incubators, we’re looking at, you know, we’ve got more regional interests. So we’ve got like Flat 6 Labs, for example, looking to launch in Iraq, there’s a lot more attention now. Careem entering the market made a huge, huge difference to the ecosystem. So it’s definitely come a long way. But there’s also a lot further that it needs to go.
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Fatema: Other than what you’re already doing on a daily basis, can you give us an example of any standout experience when you or Iraqi Innovators have used innovation to drive change for good?
Zahra: So in terms of innovation, I think one of the things I’m most proud of that I did in my previous role was we launched the first hackathon in Iraq, that was nationwide. It took place in five cities simultaneously, over one weekend, it was the largest tech event in the country, there were over 300 participants. And it was the most rewarding experience for me, because it was an event that Iraqi youth across the country was speaking about for months afterwards. And for a lot of them, it was their first hackathon, it was their first experience in this kind of setting where you know, you have to quickly ideate and iterate and create a prototype in just over a weekend with people you don’t know. And the focus of the Hackathon was also super localised, it encouraged green initiatives, the theme was, you know, how would you encourage recycling? And then how would you reduce the traffic in Baghdad or fix XYZ in Basra, so it was very much localised.
And what I’m most proud of is that one of the winners of the hackathon, their team has now blossomed into their own startup. And I feel like the impact of that event will be seen for years to come. And I don’t know if that can be considered innovative, but I felt like it was innovative for where Iraq was, at that time — this was back in 2019.
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Wil: What’s the biggest piece of advice you could give to any founders or early stage business owners who are listening around incorporating innovation or sustainability into their business practices?
Zahra: Only you know your business inside out. And sometimes we’re so occupied with the day to day that we don’t think enough about how we can make businesses more sustainable or more innovative. And I think even just trying to find ways to make your business more efficient, is innovation in itself. How can you as a founder, embolden your team by easing processes and roadblocks? How can you also think about okay, minimising plastic usage within the office? I think small things like that are really big.
When we say “let’s be more sustainable” — it’s an overwhelming thought. Because you feel like you have to do something so huge. But actually, we need to start taking small steps to then have long term sustainability. And that’s what I feel like people forget. But yeah, my main advice would be just to start small, don’t try to implement everything at once and just identify one or two areas where you can make an impact. And then gradually expand your efforts as you gain momentum and get the buy in of your team to support that.
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More about Iraqi Innovators
Iraqi Innovators is a social impact organisation with a mission to increase women’s involvement in the tech sector, up-skill job seekers, and change the international narrative about Iraq.
They offer training in Digital Copywriting, Social Media Marketing, and Digital Literacy. They aim to amplify Iraqi voices and dismantle colonial approaches to development.
A huge thank you again to Zahra for joining us on the #MettaTalks podcast. You can connect with Zahra on LinkedIn, and learn more about Iraqi Innovators on their website.
Listen to the full podcast episode on :
Spotify: http://bit.ly/40tmRqj
Google: https://bit.ly/3MyLURv
Amazon: http://bit.ly/3TFBzs5
Apple: https://bit.ly/3Qf0st1
Check out some of our other articles —
- How to make your startup both innovative and sustainable
- How to “Speak Startup” in the PR World
- Financial Planning with Impact
- Ecosystems Thinking
- 15 years in Climate Tech — What’s Changed?
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