FIRST ISSUE - 2020 THE JOURNALSTATION A quarterly journal issued by the The Station Foundation
The Station wishes you a fruitful 2020.
We hope you are keeping safe, calm and positive throughout these times and look forward to reuniting with you all in the near future.
2020 is upon us, and with it will come prodigious change. As part of our own expansion, we are thrilled to begin our initial newsletter, which is particularly designed to help keep entrepreneurs, students, startups and anyone essentially interested in the Iraqi entrepreneurial scene consistently aware of relevant activities taking place.
Every quarterly, we will feature articles concerning The Station’s engagements, news about happenings by other institutions that we recognize to be beneficial, as well as tips and educational material.
Welcome to The first issue of The Station Foundation’s journal.
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2 1350 Visitors 26 Workshops 15 Events
New Startups joined The Station in the last months
News and Updates about The Station
Zulitak:
Zulitak, is the first of its kind in Iraq, specializing in weaving and making various shapes on carpets of different sizes. And you can choose the drawing or image that you want to weave on the carpet at an affordable price.
Despite the circumstances the country is going through, Iraqi youth are still looking towards the future, and ambitious Iraqi entrepreneurs continue to set up their businesses - even in the most exceptional circumstances!. Five Startups have joined the Co-Working Space in The Station since January 2020 In the following list you will find these new Startups:
Ashona, is a legal consulting firm, with extensive experience in the legal field. They are currently providing their legal services to The Station, as well as to the startups there and other companies in Iraq, where they are organizing contracts with local and foreign companies.
Need Thing?
News and Updates about The Station
Leausion Marketing Services provides services ranging from marketing plans to detailed implementation in addition to professional training services related to this field.
Need Thing, it’s an application for everyone who has a profession or skill and can provide it as a service to clients. Users can register and present themselves and market their services properly so that people can reach them if they need a specific service they find.
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Teami
The Teami application is a reporting system that manages daily work activities between medical delegates and their managers. It is a unique application because it provides an updated questionnaire to clients (doctors and pharmacies); in addition to that it is an easy reporting system; it can enhance the company's productivity increase; works with or without (3G); it also organizes team reports and communicates them to the relevant departments.
Ashnona
Leausion
Regarding the ways in which the virus spreads, the representative of the Iraqi Ministry of Health stated, "The virus can be spread through contaminated hands and surfaces that are frequently touched. As in hospitals, for example, or door handles, keyboards, tables, beds, as well as other elements surrounding the patient, Often made of metal or plastic.
As a non-governmental organization with societal responsibilities towards the country, The Station Foundation for Entrepreneurship has taken a set of decisions and procedures, starting with the holding of a discussion session on February 22, 2020, in which the main stakeholders in the public health service in Iraq such as the Ministry of Health, the Iraqi Red Cross and the Health Organization participated TheGlobalism.aimof this session was to create more awareness and explain the ways of transmission of the virus and ways to prevent it and shed light on this problem in its beginnings.
5 (COVID-19)
New Corona Virus
Or according to the new name "COVID-19" or "corona virus", this virus has caused terror around the world. Corona virus has spread rapidly across the planet, reaching more than 160 countries in just over 3 months, infecting more than (750,000) people. Events have accelerated over the past two months, from closings in Italy, China, Iraq and many other endemic countries, to turmoil in travel and international trade, also the closure of schools throughout Iraq and the prohibition of mandatory roaming; we are now facing unprecedented public challenges that require general leaders to think Serious to take strict measures. What should the public sector do to tackle this crisis? What can governments do to contain the epidemic and manage the severe turmoil it causes? How does this affect the private sector and the economy in general?
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water because this habit helps get rid of the virus.
Avoid contact with eyes, nose, and mouth without washing hands with soap and water.
• Make sure to clean contaminated surfaces quickly.
Then, with the increased risk of infection in Baghdad, and with great sadness and pain, The Station management team decided to close its doors until further notice, starting from March 12. Although our spaces are closed, the Station's team is still continuing to work from home to ensure the possibility of continuing to provide opportunities, services and training to all those interested once the time is right, In addition to awareness posts and ideas that can be used during the period of home quarantine through our social media platforms.
Avoid direct contact with animals.
Avoid direct contact with people suffering from any respiratory disease.
In addition, the representative of the Iraqi Red Cross explained the methods that help prevent the spread of the Corona virus:
؟ﺎﻧورﻮﻛ؟ﺖﻧأﻮﻟ!كﺪﻳأ ﻢﻘﻌﺗ نأ ﺎﻤﺋاد ﺮﻛﺬﺗ
As part of our commitment to ensuring the safety of our community, we have initiated systematic disinfection procedures to ensure that our spaces are as sterile and clean as possible as well as complete the dusting of the building as a whole. We distributed fliers in our open spaces to make sure all visitors were well aware of the dangers everyone faced.
Opening of 650 café at The Station
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You can now enjoy your morning co ee at The Station or pick up a freshly made sandwich from Dar Layla.
650 specializes in beverages and light snacks, using only fresh, quality products. They o er a variety of hot beverages, such as the famous Spanish Latte, and fresh juices custom made from only locally produced fruits.
650 launched its rst ever branch at The Station on 29th February 2019.
It’s made with love.
A 36-hour workshop designed to give the basic knowledge needed to submit for the PMP Exam, (Professional Project Management).
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Workshops that took place at The Station during the past three months
Since the first of January 2020, The Station has succeeded in conducting a variety of training courses and workshops. These workshops focused on capacity building and promoting the professional development of the Belowparticipants.isagroup of workshops that were held during the mentioned period:
building a startup with a positive social impact. Where people from different provinces in Iraq and from different specializations gathered to attend the session in Baghdad – The Station Foundation for Entrepreneurship.
PMP Workshop
Architecture Visualization workshop on Architecture organized by VISUALITY STUDIO in cooperation with The Station Foundation for Entrepreneurship. The focus was on (3D-Max, Photoshop and V-ray) programs.
English workshopslanguage
AutoCAD & SketchUp Head to Head Workshop
We collaborated with our partners, the Canadian Institute (CLIC Learning),to implement two English courses for people interested in learning English, as the first workshop was for beginners’ education, while the second workshop was designed for people who want to improve their skills and fluency in conversation.
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A workshop on architecture by Vatrina, one of the startups at The Station Foundation for Entrepreneurship, focused on AutoCAD and the sketch-up program in practice.
Architectural Visualization Workshop
outsideNewsThe Station
One case in point is KAPITA. The business center impressively launched on 10th January 2020, despite the political unrest. It is located in the heart of one of Baghdad’s busiest areas, Al-Mansour and is housed in a fully renovated and equipped building for an overall innovative environment. Mujahed Waisi, the Founder of KAPITA intended to create a hub that serves as a launch pad for scalable businesses. Through Kapita’s partnerships, entrepreneurs can access programs tailored to their needs.
In light of widespread political unrest that has taken Iraq by storm, some Iraqi businesses are fixating their attention towards the future, instilling pursuits that may be considered standard practices in places around the world, however are still unconventional in Iraq. A representative example is the increasing number of hubs opening throughout the country over the last few years, offering youth a space to create and become.
Launch of KAPITA
Graduates of both programs will be able to access KAPITA’s Angels Program, funded by GIZ. The program is comprised of Iraqi investors who are offered access to startups at KAPITA. Once startups graduate from either program, they will have the opportunity to pitch in front of investors of the Angels Program. Access to finance for entrepreneurs continues to be a major predicament, but in light of such initiatives, the investor-startup relationship can hopefully be established and maintained. All in all, KAPITA has much to offer aspiring and already existing Iraqi entrepreneurs, and with the help of
For startups still at the ideation stage with little experience in business, KAPITA offers entrepreneurs their Orange Corners incubation program, an initiative of The Kingdom of the Netherlands. This 8-week incubation program will teach startups how to manage pliability during the development progress, and hence that of the final product. On the other hand, for already-established startups, KAPITA offers their Scale-Up Academy. This program is specifically tailored to assist entrepreneurs with how to develop their project’s financial status and increase sales.
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Co-working Spaces, Incubators & Accelerators: What’s the Difference?
Articles Recommendationsand
On the other hand, incubators will commonly work with startups and entrepreneurs for longer periods of time, usually six months to two years, depending on the program. They offer little to no capital and also require little to no equity in return for their trainings and mentorship. Incubation programs are targeting entrepreneurs with business ideas that are in need of guidance and mentorship to develop their idea into a full-fledged startup. In addition to mentorship, incubators may offer office space, resources and access to their strong network of clients and investors.
Accelerators usually work with startups for a short period of time, ordinarily for approximately three to four months, depending on the program. You will find that their programs are succinctly structured and are tailored to accelerating the growth of startups by focusing on consolidating your value proposition and business model. At this point, accelerators will usually invest some form of capital into your startup, for a percentage of equity. Additionally, startups will be exposed to the know-how of increasing and growing their businesses, readying them for additional rounds of funding in the future. If you’re interested in opting for a pre-acceleration program to help prepare you for a full acceleration program, please check out KAPITA’s Scale-Up Academy (see page 2 for more information).
If you’ve recently began dipping your fingers in the startup world, you’ve probably been introduced to three commonly used terms: Co-working space, incubator and accelerator. Once you’re well acquainted with the distinctions between all three, you’ll be able to make a well-informed decision about what choice is right for your startup. Collectively, Co-working spaces, incubators and accelerators all assist startups in their journey to becoming successful companies down the road. However, there are specific differences that - depending on your startup and what stage your startup has reachedwill render one concept more appealing to you than the other.
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Each space is varied in the way it chooses the startups/businesses they choose to host. The mother of Co-working spaces, (WeWork) functions as a platform for almost everyone and anyone needing a flexible space to rent to work.
If you have an early-stage business/startup and in search of an exciting shared office space, please contact The Station via our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thestationiq
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Similarly, to incubators, Co-working spaces offer rental office space and resources to their clients. Co-working spaces comes in varying forms and sizes and its main purpose is to allow entrepreneurs the chance to work alongside others instead of in segregation. They are famous for providing businesses with l cost-effective solutions to some operations, such as low-cost desks, internet access, meeting rooms, conference/event spaces and more. This has proven to be helpful to entrepreneurs who are steadily getting off their feet.
The Station Foundation for Entrepreneurship falls in the middle of a Co-working space and incubator. It has a vetting process installed that allows for filtering of the most suitable businesses. In Baghdad, there is currently a lack of options when it comes to choosing a Co-working space. Hence, it’s necessary that the businesses we have working in our shared space come from a varied number of sectors, to ensure collaboration amongst them all. The Station prioritize businesses that sorely need low-cost access to ICT infrastructure, physical space and peers, clients, events and a wide-range of programs. In addition to providing a physical space, The Station implements training programs and will soon implement its first incubation program this year in partnership with Expertise France and the European Union.
“Reading is Essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary” Jim Rohn.
It’s common that if you want to know more, you should read more. The startup journey is marked by struggles and overcoming persistent problems and obstacles, and in such an environment, reading books and enriching your knowledge is absolutely essential to help you overcome the twists and turns of your own business.
Zero to One by Peter Thiel with Blake Masters
Peter Thiel`s book is a must-read. Talking about how it is common to launch a business that already exist in a different segment of the market. The common approach and unconventional approach. This book will challenge the way you think and how to find answers that will help to push your startup forward.
Hooked by Nir Eyal
Whether you are in the thinking stage or in the launching phase of your company, the right book can help you overcome obstacles. We can’t deny that most businessmen don’t have much time to read books, or to search for a book that is suitable for reading.
This book filled with inspiring stories for ambitious entrepreneurs who managed to turn their life’s passion into income. Mainly this book focusing on small business and motivates big startups to think creatively.
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The 100$ StartUp by Chris Guillebeau
Based on Eyal`s years of research and practical experience, In this book Eyal explains What makes us engage with certain products out of sheer habit? Is there a pattern underlying how technologies hook us?
For this reason, we have compiled a some of the most popular books on startups that can help you during your startup journey:
If you have any requests for articles involving entrepreneurship, please send your request to programs@the-station.iq and we will do our best to include them in our next issue. The Station Foundation for Entrepreneurship +964 781 666 AlVillaInfo@The-Station.iq99997,St.38,Dist.903Wahda,AlKaradah,Baghdad www.the-station.iq