MOSUL’S PROMISING ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM

Athir Babat, Public Relations Senior Expert at Asiacell

Entrepreneurship is about creating new value, it’s about individuals identifying and pursuing possibilities to achieve the best possible outcomes. An entrepreneurial ecosystem explains how several variables and actors interact and how they work together to guide entrepreneurship in a specific region, city, or country. The world is witnessing a remarkable improvement in the entrepreneurship field, which shares a huge value in the global market, and there has been a marked growth in Iraqi start-ups, yet entrepreneurship in Mosul is still nascent for a variety of reasons.

Because of the three-year occupation by ISIS, from 2014 to 2017, Mosul suffered from widespread destruction of its infrastructure and negatively impacted the services, market, and economy overall. Even after its liberation, the city’s business environment was put under increasing pressure due to disruptions in the supply chain and an already weak financial system. In addition to that, other following issues made it difficult for entrepreneurs to sustain their businesses and thrive:

1. Negative social and cultural attitudes towards entrepreneurship are a major barrier to entrepreneurs. The majority of people in Mosul don’t consider entrepreneurship as a viable career option, often thinking that a job in the public sector is the only true viable career option. While the youth in Mosul often have the resilience needed in start-ups, they lack the risk-hungry mindset of entrepreneurship.

2. While the globe is in a rush to promote entrepreneurial activity, decent work, and economic growth as well as innovation and industrial development, the Iraqi government still uses outdated economic frameworks and regulations, causing start-ups to encounter difficulty in obtaining government approvals and being faced with legal barriers, especially in regards to company registration and obtaining security approvals for operations.

3. Access to Finance remains a big issue for entrepreneurs in Mosul. Start-ups are often considered high-risk, and banks utilize asset-based lending when conducting loans for businesses. Alternatively, banks use the “guarantee” system, where business owners have to get two government employees to guarantee them. In addition to high interest rates and mistrust between banks and individuals, this has created an obstacle in the way of entrepreneurs trying to finance their businesses.

The Station opened its branch in Mosul in 2019 with the support of Al-Handal International Group, the European Union, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (CDSC), and Expertise France. The Station then began to address the gap in the support for entrepreneurship in Mosul by first working on changing the mindset of youth and sensitizing them to entrepreneurship and the private sector through university sessions conducted under the Yanhad program. In addition to I’dad, a project supported by Asiacell that prepared trainers in Mosul in the field of entrepreneurship, who then went on to conduct five university sessions attended by 455 college students. I’dad fostered an entrepreneurial culture that positively supports entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship, which is critical in transforming Mosul.

Furthermore, to address the regulator issues, The Station conducted meetings with the Mosul Chamber of Commerce to discuss how to best facilitate start-up incorporation. In addition to implementing Isnad, a project focusing on policy reform, funded by CIPE, to advocate for legislative actions that support MSMEs and start-ups by reforming the legal framework and definition of what a “small business” is.

Moreover, The Station focused on job creation and startup incubation through the Yanhad program. The Station helped turn young people with ideas into sustainable and profitable businesses. In addition to using the creativeSpace to revive the long-dormant creative and art sectors in Mosul with the support of UNESCO.

Entrepreneurs, like any other people or entities, will be impacted by the institutional framework in which they operate, and their tactics will reflect the opportunities and constraints outlined by this setting. While Mosul has

faced many challenges, there are also an equal amount of opportunities. Mosul is a blue ocean with many market options and opportunities, and the youth in Mosul have shown great potential and resilience in the past couple of years.

The best is yet to come for Mosul, and The Station will be there every step of the way.