Iraq’s burgeoning startup ecosystem defies corruption

With many countries in the Middle East launching initiatives to spur innovation and entrepreneurship, like the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) Accelerator in the UAE or the Al Waha Fund of Funds in Bahrain, there has been a lot of buzz around entrepreneurship in general in the Middle East. However, most of the talk is related to larger countries in the region with more stable economies – not much has been talked about Iraq, despite its large and young population.

Due to its tough current geopolitical climate, entrepreneurship might not be the first thing you think about when you hear Iraq, especially due to the high level of corruption as well. However, as mentioned above, the country has a large young population that is eager to explore opportunities – of the 40 million people in total, roughly half are below the age of 19.

According to Mohammed Khudairi, managing partner at Khudairi Group and a co-founder at the TechHub, a co-working space in Erbil, “Technology can be a great way to diversify Iraq’s economy, it is a great equaliser to create a stronger middle class which leads to stability.” Learn more about Iraq’s burgeoning entrepreneurship ecosystem and the forces behind it here.