FOURTH ISSUE - 2020 A quarterly journal issued by the The Station Foundation THE JOURNALSTATION
15 Workshops Baghdad 11Mosul +1500 Attendees Baghdad +500Mosul +8000 Visitors Baghdad 5000Mosul19Events Baghdad 03Mosul
1- Welcome The Station News 2 - What it’s like to be an Intern at The Station? 8 - Mosul Journey 10 - Partnership & VIP Visit 13 - Made in Iraq Corner 14 - Yanhad Coding Bootcamp 18 - SkillUp at Digital Inclusion Week 20 - HIMMA 22 - Welcome to The Makerspace 24 - Team Retreat Culture News 28 - The Music Industry 32 - Children's Art Gallery Our Startups News 34 - New Startups 37 - Raising up Startups Entrepreneurship News 42 - Takween 44 - Introducing Five One Invest Articles 46 - The Future of Climate in Iraq 48 - What Does 2021 Hold? 50 - Book Recommendations Chief Editor & Producer Mohammed Fox IfEditorLubnaSalamyouhaveanyrequests 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. Thethe-station.iqStation Foundation For BaghdadEntrepreneurship +964 781 666 Dist.Al-Wahda,info@the-station.iq9999Al-Karadah903,St.38,Villa.7 Mosul +964 7807 666 Dist.Al-Dhubatmosul@the-station.iq999Quarter,42,St80,Building 30/357
IndexIntroduction
It has been an extremely challenging journey, for all of us. However, regardless of the COVID-19, political unrest, demonstrations and slow policy developments, everyone has shown strength, resilience and determination. You have all reflected to the world that Iraq has entrepreneurs of its own, taking matters into your own hands to build a better tomorrow for yourselves and your communities.
We are sure 2021 will be no less challenging, but we say with much confidence, that it will also be a fruitful and successful year. Our final journal sums up the latest of our work during 2020. We hope you enjoy reading with us.
Welcome to
The Station team is extremely proud to have been a part of the efforts taking place in Iraq’s ecosystem, and to be working with professional individuals.
The Station’s fourth and final edition for 2020.
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The Station Foundation for Entrepreneurship has always been keen on supporting youth and enhancing their capabilities in the work environment, for that reason the internship program was launched for new graduates in Baghdad, to teach them the required skills and experiences by the labor market i.e. teamwork, time management, initiative and basics of work. This program covered several branches including:
By Ayaat Saeed
The Station News
What it’s like to be an Intern at The Station?
Adam Hasan Programs Intern
As every program needs elements of planning, study, research and coordination to be launched effectively, they have received hands-on learning for each phase in the project life cycle.
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Ayat Saeed Programs intern
Ayat Adam
The Station gave me an opportunity to work at the programs department which gave me valuable insight into the industry in a very short period of time. I worked on a variety of projects which helped build my network of collection and increased my skill
Programs and Public Relations Departments
Graduation to The Station, I was lucky to have had this experience which gave me amazing skills and I became familiar with the work environment. I learned how to be a programs officer, in addition to doing some public relations activities, how to build amazing relations with other organizations & donors and how to coordinate events! It was an enthusiastic experience.
Fromset.
The two departments had two interns who focused on both the programmatic side of The Station’s work as well as the role of Public Relations. They learned how to write concept notes and reports, how to coordinate with the Monitoring & Evaluation department when a program is established, coordinate events and create work plans, how to think and search for new ideas and programs that can be applied in Iraq particularly in The Station.
The Station News | Intern at The Station?
News | Intern at The Station?
Fatima Sadoon Social Media Intern
Jamel Amir Social Media Intern
Our social media team is incredibly active over all of our social media platforms, so we decided to bring in two interns to learn all about maintaining a strong online presence. They learned about managing The Station’s content on social media, creating campaigns, photo shooting / videoing for the programs and campaigns that were organized in The Station.
The Station's internship was more exciting than I thought it would be! Everyone here is helpful and willing to pass knowledge to us, advise us, and to educate us on what we need. The Station's environment promotes creativity and innovative ideas, especially the social media department, as it's an essential factor that shows all what's going on at The Station. Working with the social media team has helped me develop and apply my skills, because they respect and listen to our ideas.
JamelFatima
My experience at The Station's social media team has been beyond terrific, we're constantly creating new content, from writing articles, to recording stories, to making posts, to answering messages; we are definitely pushed to our limits on a daily basis, and it's quite the valuable experience. The Station has very high standards when it comes to its work, and it certainly shows.
The Social Media Department
The4Station
internships.Thisopportunity
The Finance Department:
The finance department allowed one intern to learn how to prepare invoices, procurement policies, monitor the budget for the programs, provide donors with the reports and monitor the budget of banks and the cash flow inside The
Logistics Department
I got a wonderful opportunity at The Station. I worked hard to achieve the maximum practical experience and I also advanced on the theoretical side. The interns and colleagues gave me good support and I learned a lot from them! In addition, I learned about the professional tools and developed my academic language; within a few days, I understood many details at the operational level. The Station is the right place for
Alaa Mtashar Finance intern
Mohammed Maytham Logistics intern
AlaaMohammedThe5Station
OneStation.intern
joined the logistics department and learned how to coordinate events and make sure everything works seamlessly. He was provided with the required tools to effectively manage The Station’s events and helped the other departments with other tasks.
was incredible; The Station has given me such a great experience, all of the staff were friendly and helped us a lot to understand the work and now I became very good with logistics and learned how they work.
News | Intern at The Station?
This opportunity has been a bliss, it promised to deliver so many good skills and it did so perfectly, I’m so thankful for all the staff and the network I got from The Station as it is one of Iraq’s lead co-working spaces.
Abdullah
The6Station News | Intern at The Station?
Abdullah Amjad Amjed,M&E intern.
For 3 months, the interns worked 3 full days a week at The Station. At the end of the training, the interns will be able to implement the skills that they have received from the internship without any difficulties. The program will be renewed with different cohorts, and expanding to The Station Mosul in the near future.
The M&E department is crucial for The Station and one intern joined them to learn how to monitor inputs and activities and evaluate objectives and goals throughout the project life cycle, how to create reports to the donors, design the log frame, as well as making sure that every milestone in an event or activity has been achieved.
Monitoring and Evaluation
The Station in Mosul has sponsored, since its inception, a number of conferences and workshops inside its halls in various fields and specialization.
By Zainab Azzam & Athir Jaafar
Mosul Journey
After the devastation that befell the city of Mosul and the dark times that the city witnessed, life came back again, but with a large percentage of destruction and vandalism. With the economic crisis in the country, it was difficult to rebuild and build up all the destruction and damage; Therefore, the doors were open for startups and ambitious youth who wanted to build and restore Mosul to its former state and keep pace with development. It was necessary for The Station establishment to be a hub that brings together entrepreneurs and youth and encourages them to work in a healthy and productive environment for the purpose of discussing ideas, obtaining knowledge and building relationships with others who have similar aspirations and a desire to develop.
The Station opened its doors on the 22nd of September 2020 and began its march in support of Theyouth.Station supports emerging projects by providing a shared workspace that helps them work and start their reconstruction journey. Meanwhile, the open space is also open to self-employed people and students.
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The Station in Mosul aims to provide support and enable emerging projects that provide innovative solutions to address many problems, the most important of which are the major environmental problems in the city, through a program that will work on intensive training that includes practice sessions and exercises for the participants' ideas from the professional side, creating a marketing strategy and studying the needs of clients, aiming to create a solid business model.
The Station also works on creating gatherings and clubs for some specialties, such as the Nineveh Reading Club, which was opened and launched from inside The Station to be a meeting place for reading enthusiasts to share their passions and experiences together, and the concept of a shared library that allows students to share books with each other is also being worked on.
The Station also works to support students of the medical group and doctors through a number of conferences and medical workshops, where the station sponsored a course on emergency medicine delivered by Dr. Nasrat Al-Attar to be his first lecture in the city of Mosul. The Station also sponsored a course in neurology and headaches, given by Dr. Yahya Qassem Al-Mashhadani and a number of doctors from around the world through the Zoom platform.
Also, the Iraq Cloud gathering, which was officially recognized and funded by the Amazon company after its launch from The Station in Mosul, through a workshop held in cooperation with the trainer Ammar Hanoun, and the gathering began to include all those interested in Iraq and to cover some of the powers of students, the most important of which is to apply for some exams for Amazon certificates for free.
English speaking sessions were also held at The Station, organized by the Toastmasters team in Mosul, aimed at empowering young people and members of the club to speak and the art of public speaking in the English language.
The technical side of the program improves the skills of young people in programming and developing websites for the importance of programming at the present time, the training will continue for 12 weeks to build real applications with continuous follow-up and guidance.
The9Station News | Mosul Journey
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Partnership
By Aymen Salman
Despite the difficulties and challenges that the ecosystem has faced over the past year in the world in general, and Iraq in particular, The Station was keen to expand its network by increasing its partners all around the region; Where The Station partnered with Innovation Partners. IP is a local Iraqi firm specialized in providing supply chain solutions and professional services. IP successfully operates with a diverse set of high-profile professionals in terms of project management, HSE, supply chain, finance and general contracting. This partnership has enhanced the overall performance of the Station’s accounting department by developing and implementing a new accounting system throughout re-structuring the accounting system in place, implementing a new accounting software and providing technical assistance for the staff about the new module in line with the new practice methodology of the new accounting system.
VIP Visits
By Aymen Salman
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The Station was delighted for the visit of Mr. Fabrice Bousslam from Expertise France, an important partner of The Station and one of the most important supporters of the entrepreneurial environment in Iraq.
We also had another important visit by the CEO of Zain Iraq, Mr. Ali Alzahid. Zain Iraq is one of the major players in the entrepreneurship sector in Iraq and one of its biggest supporters, where Mr. Alzahid had a tour at the Station's various facilities and got closely acquainted with its positive role towards youth, in addition to his meeting with a
In the last days of 2020, The Station was proud of being a hub for many officials, VIPs and official missions during the year. Despite the difficult security and health conditions that Iraq is going through, these obstacles did not prevent our international partners from visiting The Station. Mr. James Cleverly, The Minister for Middle East & North Africa in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Officer, accompanied by the British Ambassador, Mr. Stephen Hickey, was a very important event during this year. Mr. Cleverly expressing his admiration for the youth’s work, he said “I met with inspirational young entrepreneurs and youth leaders ,I saw first-hand the potential that the Iraqi people have to transform and diversify their economy and build a more stable country.”
Mr. Arthur Botto, from the Center for Humanitarian Operations and Stabilization at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ms. Leila Morghad the Political Department at the French Embassy, also visited us to discuss ways to develop an entrepreneurial environment in Iraq and follow up on the progress of projects implemented by The Station in Mosul and Baghdad funded by the French Foreign Ministry.
News | VIP
Sports, Mr. Adnan Darjal, was an important event. Actually, the Minister visited The Station more than once during 2020 and got acquainted with The Station's activities as well as the young entrepreneurs and showed his admiration for our programs and for
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We also hosted Ms. Merel de Coninck, from the Economic Department of the Dutch Embassy, to The Station building in Baghdad, to discuss some of the projects to be implemented in cooperation with The Station Foundation.
The Station Visit
After the demonstrations that stormed Iraq, many popular campaigns were launched to boycott imported products and support local products. The Station participated in this initiative by supporting Iraqi local products in its own way. The Made in Iraq corner has become like a miniature Iraq that showcases products for companies from different regions of Iraq, such as Berhyah, Khzar, Tricot, Zafiruh, Pingo, Elaka, and Asdiqaee magazine. The products of these projects vary from the jewelry of Khzarm, and textile industry such as Tricot, as well as the a number of stickers and brooches from Pingo, knitted crafts from Zafiruh and the manufacture of souvenir medallions with TheElaka.year
Made in Iraq Corner
ended with a fantastic collaboration with the British Embassy in Baghdad where The Station organized a Christmas Bazaar, where the souvenirs were different from the previous years. Most of the workers from diplomatic delegations in Iraq were invited to the bazaar and purchased their Christmas gifts that were made in Iraq, taking them to their own countries.
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By Aymen Salman
Teaching someone a skill like coding and web development can open up a lot of opportunities in their lives, not only by the fact that their skills in the area increase, but also in terms of job prospects, especially in Iraq, where a large amount of private sector companies are actively looking for developers of all kinds.
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By Jameel Amir
YANHAD Coding Bootcamp
The application form opened up on Facebook, and had over 200 applicants sign up over the period of 3 weeks. In the end, 18 participants were chosen, the percentage of acceptance was very slim this time because of social distancing measures. Applicants were chosen based on their pre-existing knowledge of basic coding concepts and their commitment and passion to learn.
To increase the Iraqi youth’s skills, expertise, knowledge, and employability, The Station hosted multiple bootcamps as part of the Yanhad program, starting from August till December, implemented by Expertise de France & FikraSpace, funded by the European Union and French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. The bootcamps focused on training young Iraqi’s with valuable skills that they could make use of, whether it’s to develop an app, build a business, or simply have a skillset valuable to employers.
The15Station
One of the participants, Omar, was enrolled both in Yanhad’s coding bootcamp and its pre-incubation program. He noted that his newly-gained skills in coding had significantly helped him in bootstrapping his business, MaslehTech, an online Iraqi freelancer platform, and developing a minimum-viable-product for it.
News | YANHAD Coding Bootcamp
By the end of the bootcamp, participants learned to design a website’s front-end and user interface, execute it, plan the backend, initialize servers, create and manage databases, tweak, debug, and test their web app, and finally upload it to the cloud. All training sessions involved practical projects afterwards and take-home assignments, in which the trainees made their own websites using techniques they learned to brush up on their knowledge.
Following the bootcamp, Wave Web Solutions, one of the startups in The Station’s coworking space and in their effort to expand the business, hired 2 of the participants at entry-level positions as web developers. 4 of the graduates also began their internships at Solo Creative Studios, and a participant was hired by Earthlink Telecoms.
The16Station
Not only did the bootcamp teach participants a wide array of programming concepts and web development frameworks while having them develop countless projects and web apps, offering them a learning experience unmatched anywhere in Iraq, it also simplified the process for a lot of Iraqi companies and startups in the private sector looking to employ developers.
News YANHAD Coding Bootcamp
The Station is proud to be a center for creativity, innovation and development, facilitating trainings in various fields that serve to empower young Iraqi’s, and the amount of positive feedback we received by participants and the bootcamp’s results further prove the potential of similar programs in Iraq.
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17 Implemented by
Financed by
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UNESCO and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) organize the Digital Inclusion Week annually on the 25th of October, with a focus on providing opportunities, training and knowledge for those who do not have access to it, in addition to exchanging experiences.
By Lubna Salam
SkillUp at Digital Inclusion Week
The Station implementedm in cooperation with Zain Iraq, the “SkillUp” program, a series of online sessions during the Digital Inclusion Week in order to make this week’s activities beneficial in Iraq and with The Station’s value of sharing our skills and experiences with the Iraqi youth community to face the problems of unemployment and lack of skills. These sessions continued from the October 25th until October 31st 2020. The "SkillUp'' program included training lectures providing basic information to more than 621 participants, most of them women and from all governorates of Iraq, who have an interest in learning more about a specific field, and it was presented by 16 trainers from Zain Iraq and The Station’s team. SkillUp inclusion week lasted for 52 full training hours.
26 SESSIONS 16 TRAINERS 621 PARTICIPANTS 3202INAPPLICATIONS48HOURS 12 PEOPLE WORKING BEHIND THE SCENE 43% MALE 57% FEMALEHIGHLIGHTS19TheStationNews|SkillUpatDigitalInclusionWeek
Among the topics included in the "SkillUp" curriculum were: Project Management, Business Model, Microsoft Office, Content Planning, Personal Skills, Market Research, Digital Marketing, Public Relations, Introduction to IELTS, Tourism, Time Management, Sales Strategies, Labor Market, Budgeting and Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship.
Private and public sector organisations should be responsible to implement and develop this type of specialized program. They can contribute in some way to solving the local and even global youth unemployment problem by developing their skills and preparing them to enter the Iraqi labor market. Although many young people have already obtained university education and even graduate degrees, they struggle to search for jobs in the fields of their choice, and many of them lack the skills necessary to obtain these jobs.
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HIMMAByRashaAl-Bani
The Station Foundation for Entrepreneurship is known for its role as a player in Iraq’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. However, in 2019, we finished implementing our first civic engagement program, funded by International Republic Institute, a nonpartisan NGO working on empowering democracy and freedom of speech across all levels of society. This program, called “Himma”, focused on means of empowering youth in the sphere of knowledge awareness, critical thinking and civic responsibility. A large component of “Himma” consisted of public debates, implemented with the support of “Baghdad Debate Club”, a local community club that teach the art of debating to youth. The purpose of ‘Himma’ isn’t necessarily to shape the thoughts and ideas of others, but to encourage the process of exchanging knowledge and ideas in a setting that is professional, mature and insightful. Learning to be exposed to new notions is a learning curve, boosting one’s confidence in the process; a vital characteristic for entrepreneurs. Additionally, it is an experience that gradually develops one’s leadership skills as it creates better listeners, orators and thinkers. Finally, it can increase the level of civic engagement and sense of civic responsibility as the skills adopted help break down traditional barriers, empowering all societal groups. It is often asked, “how is this related to entrepreneurship”? The question falls short of understanding what it means to be an entrepreneur. It is not merely about creating a successful startup and/or business. Entrepreneurs build character, mindset and skills that provide a basis for productivity, intellect and strong activism. Entrepreneurs make great role models, driving great development in their respective societies.
the importance of active participation in driving relevant policies. To consider governmental politics a factor completely alien to one’s everyday life is a widely-thought misconception, even in Iraq, as is illustrated by the high number of eligible non-voters. Having taken into consideration that The Station’s target market consists of entrepreneurs, businessmen/women and startups, we centered our debates primarily around topics that expose them to a wide array of new information that can support navigating aspects of their lives. Over the last three months, a number of vital topics were interestingly debated, such as the affairs of Iraq’s economic policies and the role of women in Iraqi society. These sessions helped participants to navigate through multifaceted information, in turn self-directing their learning experience. We received great feedback regarding these debate sessions, and the work Himma is doing. As a result, two members of The Station staff responsible for the implementation of the program, were invited to speak on Al Iraqiya to discuss the details of
The Station News | HIMMA 21
In January, The Station will be launching two new membership packages for those that would like to learn more about the space. The monthly subscription will allow members to learn how to use the equipment with one of STEMile’s technicians and be as creative as they like! An alternative package will allow participants to have a private consultation on their idea with a STEMile team member who will assist them in realising their plans.
The Makerspace at The Station was generously donated by GIZ Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Perspectives for a Modern Youth in Iraq as a wider part of our first major project,
In addition, 3D printing courses will be held, with others being available later in the year relating laser cutting and CNC machines that will allow anyone to develop their skills further.
By Ashley Barlow
Welcome to The Makerspace
this space in the best way to support our community, as well as Station Kids, one of our startups, STEMile, is managing this resource to ensure that training sessions can be run, innovative ideas be created, and collaboration fostered with other creative startups. During the launch session,The Station and STEMile presented their vision for 2021 including new membership options, courses, as well as seeking plans to reduce the carbon footprint of the space, and find sustainable solutions.
ToYIP.utilise
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23 The Station News | Makerspace
In the last days of 2020, we had an unforgettable bonding experience as a team including 20 members, enjoying the New Year's Holiday together in the lovely north of Iraq. Since it was a very difficult and stressful year for us, we needed to preserve our wellness and mental health for the upcoming year. This helped the team members feel better together and inspired to work, particularly in today's technical and digital workplaces, this retreat offered a space to get the Mosul and Baghdad team together for some real face-to-face time.
Team Retreat
This retreat was like a celebration for all the hard work that the team has done this year, and it helped everyone to feel respected. These moments and experiences have helped to make us feel reconnected, positive with who we work with and what we do together. It's too hard to be friends with your co-workers without getting to hang out in person. Our team isn't together too often, so we simply had to take pictures and have a lot of fun capturing our time and memories together by shooting photos.
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By Lubna Salam
Without Advenature, it couldn't have been possible to do all that in this breathtaking way. Advenature has proven that we can enjoy cheaper and charming locations in Iraq and focus less on the budget. Our experience with them was filled with fun, excitement, and enthusiasm. Yousif Al-Fahad, the founder of Advenature, and his team have drove us by bus, to wonderful destinations over the span of three days;
The Station News | Team Retreat 25
On the second day, we headed to the Barzan forests, where we hiked in the charming valleys of plants, trees, and waterfalls. We then finished the day at a really nice restaurant with a lovely view of the Greater Zab river.
On the first day, we were taken on a very joyful safari trip with ATBT Safari Kurdistan in Shaqlawa. We then hung out in Shaqlawa’s popular market. On the night, we gathered in a very cozy restaurant to have a welcoming dinner with the team and to introduce everyone to the retreat program for the next two days.
Our third and last destination was so snowy, in Choman, where we climbed the ice-covered "Bradost" mountain and had so much fun playing in the soft snow together, eating some snacks and drinking Iraqi tea in front of the lit fire. We took in the breathtaking views and awesome hiking in the area and explored more waterfalls. At the end of the day, we tried a very tasty kurdish dinner at Soran before turning back to the hotel.
Advenature is a tourism start-up that kicked off at The Station’s co-working space, that specializes in discovering areas that tourist buses don’t enter, drawing visitors from home and abroad; they provide nature-related activities such as hiking, rowing and camping in a friendly, entertaining and exciting manner. Yousif, the founder of the startup, traveled to various places in Iraq and saw the presence of wonderful beauty that many people hadn’t seen, particularly in the north, so he decided to begin a startup business organising private groups.
The organization’s culture is all about people, and it doesn't exist without them. You'll find that any attempt to create a corporate culture is created by individuals.
The Station News | Team Retreat
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Check Advenature’s Page on Facebook and Instagram, and taste the adventures!
ﻖﻳﺮﻔﻟا ةﺮﻔﺳ | ﺔـﻄـﺤـﻤـﻟا 27
Cultural News
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The Music Industry
By Ali Al-Makhzomy
The music industry across the world is constantly growing at a rate of 10% annually, according to Forbes. The value of the business market in the audio and music field reached 19.1 billion US dollars for the year 2018, according to the report of the International Federation of the Recording Industry in its latest version issued on Statistics for the year 2019, the value of the music market amounted to 20.2 billion dollars, and that more than 55% of sales are through digital platforms such as YouTube and other applications that broadcast through the Internet. Experts expect that these numbers will be greater for the year 2020 as a result of the Corona pandemic that swept the world and forced people to stay in their homes and buy or listen to music through digital platforms.
Digital music applications, concert tickets, recording and distributing music for films, advertisements, TV programs, CDs, in addition to concerts, production of albums and publishing them on YouTube, are among the most prominent products of the music and audio industry.
Unfortunately, there are no accurate statistics in Iraq about the real value achieved by this industry in Iraq, as it has been absent from the report of the International Federation for the Industry of Phonograms mentioned above. As The Station is a hub for the artistic community, and a cultural institution in Iraq, we understand that the size of the demand is very significant for the recording, distribution and establishment of concerts and production of music for television programs and advertisements. We can also consider the manufacturing of musical instruments as one of the rare traditional handmade industries that keeps age old practices alive.
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Cultural News | The Music Industry
This request provides many job opportunities, and we believe that it encourages many young people to study music in specialized institutes such as the Institute of Music Studies and Colleges of Arts. This requires an important role from the Department of Musical Arts at the Ministry of Culture who can contribute by establishing a general policy for music production and correcting the path of workers. In this field, in addition to the increasing desire of Iraqi youth to learn music, and the community’s need for various concerts, it contributes to getting rid of daily routines and escaping from the world of technology. This will contribute to building an environment that stimulates young people to develop Iraqi music and promote it in various ways in an appropriate manner. With its great history, and in a way that can be used economically and culturally, The Station will soon launch within its cultural program a project specialized in music that aims to increase workers in the field of music and musicians and contributes to the development of their capabilities. Because of The Station's belief in Iraqi talents and their musical work, we have created a special space to teach music through a partnership with the Mustafa Zayer Center for Music, a pioneering project founded by the oud player, artist Mustafa Zayer, which aims to teach various musical instruments such as the piano, violin and oud.
Cultural30 News | The Music Industry
The Station recently hosted three concerts, the first of which brought together the two brothers, the Iraqi national symphonic band players Ahmed and Junaid Mahmoud, on the piano and violin. Our second concert was from the Mustafa Zayer Center, where talents of different ages played for the first time in front of the audience and on various oriental and classical musical instruments. The third concert saw Mustafa Zayer and his youth center band present a concert, the first of its kind in the city of Mosul, in our 2nd branch, coinciding with the third anniversary of Victory Day, in which the liberation of Mosul was announced.
Cultural31 News | The Music Industry
Children's Art Gallery
Art is a unifying universal language, where all children regardless of their class, status or nationality can communicate and express themselves clearly. Here in The Station we believe in art’s deep importance for children. From helping build their fine motor skills and developing their problem-solving skills to helping them understand the world, their peers, and themselves better.
The Station held an art workshop led by esteemed Iraqi artist Riyadh Ghenea for children aged 6 to 12 in October and a later gallery showcasing the children’s art was held on November 7th. This workshop was done in partnership with Human Resources Gate in addition to our sponsors: IOT Kids and Asdikaee Magazine.
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By Adam Hassan
One of the children in the workshop, a young girl by the name of Aleen Nasser Lutfi, went on to participate in the Future of Climate Change in Iraq exhibition and win the Children’s art category!
Cultural33 News | Children's Art Gallery
The paintings were diverse in both style and content. Many topics were approached by the children, one recurring topic in the children’s art, however, was climate change. Artist Riyadh Ghenea stated that this is the result of decades and decades of wars and isolation. Art therapy is the perfect tool to start healing these wounds.
New Startups
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By Zahraa Abdulkareem
2020’s has been bustling with activities for The Station’s co-working space, our startups achieved new milestones and have made lots of development during this year! A great expansion happened through The Station’s supporting strategies such as monitoring, evaluation, mentoring, and outreach.
Entrepreneurship News
Many newly-graduated startups from both our pre-incubation programs, Yanhad and Raaidat, have joined our co-working space such as:
Green & Gold - a venture specializing in converting organic waste into fertilizers.
BaytX - a platform connecting customers with architects, interior designers, civil supervision engineers, and consultants.
MaslahTech - a platform connecting freelancers and service providers with customers.
News | New Startups
Safr - a travel agency supplier providing airline tickets and visa services at rates significantly more affordable than competitors.
Nahla Wa Asaal - a beekeeping business specializing in the sale of honey and other bee products.
Tabla - a startup offering healthcare providers; doctors and pharmacists, a unified platform and inclusive digital system.
Toystop - an online store that sells educational and entertaining toys for kids with special disabilities. Zena Saad - a venture specializing in producing a unique porcelain for sculptors, accessories designers.
Entrepreneurship35
The Station co-working space has opened doors for new and notable sectors that show high demand in the Iraqi market such as the art & music sector represented by Highway, a band; mental health with Nosoh, a mental health consultation startup; and more tech projects with Photonect, a mobile application connecting photographers with individuals and businesses, as well as GaragesApp, a mobile application for reserving parking spaces in Baghdad’s car parks. Our co-working space also welcomed numerous eco-friendly startups as part of The Station’s ongoing green initiative, including AJA Food Trucks, an eco-friendly mobile food trucking service; and Eco IPR, a zero-waste packaging and recycling business.
Baghdadiya - an online store for marketing handmade products made by iraqi women.
Entrepreneurship36
News | New Startups
Onestartups.ofthemain
This year, The Station has increased its collaboration with startups, through involving their founders with substantial industry experiences in its entry-level workshops, pre-incubation programs, and mentorship programs. In addition to that, we worked to create a dynamic atmosphere by scheduling periodically introductory meetings in order to increase the collaboration and partnership between the
In addition, we announced the availability of desks for freelancers and students, which would significantly alleviate costs for Iraqi individuals while introducing them to The Station’s extensive network of entrepreneurs and startups.
strategies that we are focused on this year is raising the visibility for the startups
Rising Startups
The Station’s co-working space has witnessed a year full of challenges, hardships, and hope. 2020 The Station’s had started with an annual plan to support the startups that was designed before the pandemic. Later on, at the end of the 1st quarter, The Station responded to the government instructions to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, we closed the co-working space for 4 months from March until July. During this time, all of the startups were thinking of how to survive the crisis and keep their business alive! During that time, the entrepreneurs were put a list of key solutions: changing the business model canvas, marking strategy, financial plan as well as taking a number of courses relating to soft skills. Those emergency plans have affected the startups positively, and improved their business in a way
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By Zahraa Abdulkareem
successMustafa
In addition to that, he has done some field visits to scientific offices in Baghdad to promote the application’s services. Nowadays, Teami’s application database has 16K clinics and health institutions in Iraq and 600 users operating - all coordinated by just 5 members of staff! Due to that promising progress, Teami has received a loan from Ashur international bank, a 5-digit investment from Angel Investors Network, and a grant from the ICT-GIZ project.
Proper planning and being patience are the main keys to Al Jaff Teami’s Founder
Teami is a reporting system that manages daily work activities between medical delegates and their managers in order to have accurate follow-up and reduce the use of papers, the application launched in 2019. Also, Teami has the feature of working without using internet which helps in increasing the speed, productivity, and reduces costs. The first months of this year were very positive for Teami, where Mustafa Saeed, Teami’s founder, invested the partial curfew to increase the administrative and financial expertise through participating in entrepreneurship developing programs.
Entrepreneurship38
News | Raising up Startups
Teami
Leausion is a marketing services provider; their services range from marketing plans to detailed implementation, in addition to professional training services related to marketing. Leausion was founded in 2017 but they were officially launched in February 2020 with two employees only! As all the startups in the Station co-working space, Leausion has actively responded to the pandemic and modified their business model by adding new services like market research and social media management. The new services were attracting new clients from different sectors; Leusion’s portfolio of clients reached 49 startups and companies by the third quarter of 2020. Moreover, Leausion offers free-of-charge services to all startups who are allocated at the Station’s co-working space in Baghdad and Mosul in order to support their business growth. This expansion has required an increase in staff, therefore, Leausion's team now has 18 members which provide opportunities for youth to take part in the Iraqi private sector.
LEAUSION
Our credibility with the customers was the main reason for our success as it has helped us to gain customers and gain their trust. This led to an increase in the revenues which has helped us increase the workforce and provide more consulting and training services for our customers
Entrepreneurship39 News | Raising up Startups
Mohsin Oriby Leausion’s Founder
Our goal is the success of our clients because at the end of the day their success is ours Ali Naji Ballarena’s Founder
Entrepreneurship40
News | Raising up Startups
Ballerina is a media production startup that aims to present a new image for projects by using a creative imagination to create new concepts and new and innovative images within a high-spec artistic production. Their services include: production of artworks, post-production, advertising campaigns, road advertisements, television advertisements, production of cartoon works, brand design, web design, training courses in all technical fields. Ballerina had joined our co-working space in 2019. While most businesses had collapsed during the quarantine, Ballerina was focused on making products with good offers for health institutions in order to have new customers. The new offers helped Ballerina to sign great deals with big institutions in Baghdad and Basra. The successful experiments encouraged Ballerina to open doors and discover new sectors like the hospitality sector. These new deals had required more space for new staff and equipment, thus Ballerina has moved to a new office out of The Station. Adding to the office, Ballerina keeps on a desk at the co-working space in order to cooperate with the other startups.
Ballerina
Wasil Wasil is the first fully automated shipping and logistics startup in Iraq. Launched in early 2020, Wasil provides a variety of offers that suit each person/company, from multiple tier memberships to repackaging and purchasing. During the curfew, Wasil made changes to the business model and relied more on e-commerce by adding new options to purchase from such as Turkey, UAE, and USA. Wasil’s expansion has had a positive impact where the business has scaled up. Nowadays, Wasil has a new office with storage space in Baghdad. The Station is proud of all startups who have had success stories and we promise to give all the necessary technical and logistic support to our alumni.
News | Raising up Startups
Entrepreneurship41
Takween, Iraq’s first startup accelerator, has recently completed its first cohort of participants as part of its Yanhad programme, funded by the European Union and the French Centre for Crisis and Support and implemented in collaboration with Expertise France.
Entrepreneurship News
Eileen Brewer, Accelerator Director, explained that the Takween Accelerator runs an intensive 12-week program with select startups and introduces them to ideas, processes, and templates for building successful businesses. The topics covered include; leadership and growth mindset, business finance, product development, marketing, growth hacking and investor readiness. Takween provides access to free legal counsel and software licenses as perks of being in the program, along with direct access to mentors and investors. During the 12-week program the startups commit to a minimum of 7 hours a week of online sessions and meetings, plus completing assignments and implementing changes in their business based on what they are learning. Eileen further highlighted that some of the challenges that face startups in Iraq are the access to key information related to financial management systems, the understanding of customer acquisition costs, pricing margins and the importance of branding. The programme sought to provide comprehensive training in these areas.
Takween
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When asked about the role of Takween in the wider ecosystem, Eileen said that Takween compliments the incubators in Iraq such as The Station, as Takween provides the startups with opportunities to advance their entrepreneurial journey and to help them become investment ready.
By Ashley Barlow
pitch day, a number of seed funding awards were given to the startups:
• Shopyobrand
• Mr. Erbil
• FAM Academy
IOT Kids and Kurdcoin both received an honourable mention and were awarded $5000 each. SmartMed won 3rd place and was awarded $15,000. Dakakenna won 2nd place and received $23,000. One Connect won 1st place and received $27,000.
Takween will be launching its second cohort in March 2021 with applications open now. Startups can apply here: https://apply.takweenaccelerator.com/. The programme will be held online allowing participants to join from across the country. Applicants should have a good understanding of English and outstanding tech skills. For further information please follow: https://www.instagram.com/takweenacc/https://twitter.com/TakweenAcchttps://www.facebook.com/takweenacc
The startups who completed the 12-week cohort include:
• SmartMed
The Takween programme also includes international mentors which has helped the startups consider expanding outside of Iraq as well as provide them with global customer expectations. After the final pitch event in December the international mentors and investors were left with a very positive impression of the startups in Iraq.
• Péleen’s Organic
• The DuringWorkshopthefinal
• IoT KIDS
• FIX IT
• One Connect
• Rescue Project
The Station would like to congratulate all of the winners, as well as all of the participants, in completing this programme and wish them luck as they move forward.
Entrepreneurship News | Takween 43
• Dakakenna
• Kurdcoin
By Ashley Barlow
Introducing Five One Invest
The Station is delighted to announce its collaboration with Five One Labs in co-hosting one Entrepreneur Spotlight session every three months. It marks a continued partnership with our partners in Sulaymaniyah as we work together to find opportunities to support entrepreneurs across Iraq.
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One such event is the Entrepreneur Spotlight, which brings together investors from across the world who are keen to support startups in Iraq, and young entrepreneurs who are looking for seed funding. In these monthly Spotlight sessions, two startups are invited to pitch their ideas and answer in-depth questions from investors. The startups come from a wide range of fields, and represent the diversity of entrepreneurs in Iraq.
Five One Labs has been supporting Iraqi startups since beginning its operations in September, 2017. Now, with its new initiative Five One Invest, Five One Labs wants to help tackle one of the key challenges facing the Iraqi entrepreneurial community - access to finance. Five One Invest aims to work with both investors and entrepreneurs to improve their understanding of, and access to, each side of the investing equation. The initiative includes training programs for entrepreneurs to become more investment ready - including preparing for investor due diligence and valuation analysis - and works with new and existing investors to engage in angel investing and support technology startups in Iraq. Additionally, there are public webinars and other events to make investment a better understood topic across Iraq.
Quite simply, Five One Invest wants to help facilitate more investment for Iraqi startups. By providing high quality, tailored support for both investors and entrepreneurs, and by facilitating connections between each side, Five One Invest hopes to see increasing investment deal flow in the Iraqi market.
Entrepreneurship News | Five One Invest
Why has Five One Invest been launched?
What has the feedback been from entrepreneurs?
Ahmed D. Salman, Co-founder of IoT Kids
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“Five One Labs is the right investment mentor who educates entrepreneurs in Iraq and directs them towards beneficial investmentment opportunities.”
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• Children’s art category: Aleen Nasser Lutfi
Articles
• Digital art category: Naba Hussein Ali
• Fine art category: Hussein Ali Hasan
The Future of Climate in Iraq
We opened up submissions for a variety of artforms, and we received 67 submissions, 19 of them were displayed during the exhibition and 9 of these competed for the final prizes. The winning entries in the exhibition were as follows:
By Adam Hassan
These questions were the starting point for the Future of Climate Change in Iraq exhibition which took place on November 21st. This event came as a result of the partnership between the United Nations Development Programme - Accelerator Lab in Iraq and The Station Foundation for ClimateEntrepreneurship.changecan
When you think of the future of Iraq, how do you imagine it? Is it an Iraq where cities and urban areas are planted with palm trees and wild oaks or do you picture an Iraq where desertification has killed what remains of the forests, where garbage accumulates in the rivers and cities, where the marshes have become dryland?
be simply defined as long-term changes to our planet’s temperature. Even though it might only increase a single digit, the effect it will have is catastrophic. From rising temperatures to desertification, Iraq will be hit the hardest. On top of that, the lack of infrastructure and plans for a post-oil world will cause catastrophic damage to our society. Unfortunately, this issue has been ignored for a very long time and the more we pretend it isn’t happening, the less our chances of averting disaster are! The problem was that when faced with a multitude of problems, humans tend to focus on the short term ones, it’s in our nature. That’s why the only solution we had was looking into the future.
Fromsolutions.partnering with eco friendly startups to internally making The Station green, this art exhibition is only the first step in a greater initiative, adapted by The Station, which will continue in 2021 and onwards. The Future of Climate in Iraq
Articles47 |
The prompt was to imagine the future of Iraq in regards to its climate, and although we didn’t specify a certain tone, most of the submissions had a negative overtone which is proof that Iraqis are aware of the problem, even if it’s ingrained deep down in their psyche. Climate anxiety is on the rise, especially among the Theyoung.first step in solving a problem is identifying it. The primary goal of the event was to sense and explore the future of climate in Iraq, while also raising awareness about the many issues spawned by climate change; all in the aim of increasing climate literacy by encouraging a more sustainable and eco friendly lifestyle and local solutions. Information on climate change and how to best combat its effects can also help communities become more resilient.
Tackling climate change isn’t going to be easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. With innovation and art we can help save the environment and build a better Iraq for generations to come.
Both organizations will strive to tackle climate change in Iraq. The UNDP Accelerator Lab is committed to sensing and exploring the challenges and why it is not put forward by Iraqi community in the aim of finding local
A special mention must also be reserved for all of our strategic partners, collaborators and donors who continue to share our vision in these uncertain times, and are as committed to supporting youth as much as we are.
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What Does 2021 Hold?
2021 is already shaping up to be a quite a busy one! We will be launching projects imminently, designed to support digital security for women, digital advocacy for minority groups as well as future pitch competitions for startups. We are looking at expanding support for SMEs across the country to help ensure that those who have suffered from the pandemic can continue to operate and thrive. We will be having training programmes launching very soon in Mosul, to boost the capacity of local trainers to deliver quality workshops across the universities of Nineveh. We are looking at signing new partnerships - being able to share resources can only strengthen The Station’s ability to achieve its goals and provide new and exciting opportunities, not only in Baghdad and Mosul, but across Iraq. Some of the partnerships will be announced very soon!
By Ashley Barlow
With 2020 behind us, it is a time for The Station to look back, reflect and move forward. Despite all of the challenges, The Station has proven its resilience and power to adapt and thrive. This is in large part to the team working behind the scenes but also the community who trust us to deliver quality opportunities and events - without your continued support we could not continue to operate.
Articles | What Does 2021 Hold? 49
We also used this time to reflect on our own work and how we can improve what we do. The Station is committed to ensuring that we can begin implementing internal changes that will reduce our carbon footprint and stand up to our environmental responsibility. We will explore options on how we can facilitate entrepreneurship in the green sector, as well as highlight the potential that AgriTech and Green startups can have in Iraq.
At The Station, we do not like to get comfortable with what we do. We want to challenge ourselves, and draw on the teams own experiences to try new and exciting things. 2021 will see the launch of new initiatives, new “spaces,” and new ideas to ensure that we can offer something for everyone. If you are a young Iraqi creative - watch this “space!” We know the power of art to influence us is everywhere: branding, advertising, street art, film and music. This year we will be committed to supporting Iraqi creatives in addition to our tech scene!
As you can see, we have a lot planned for next year, and we hope that you will join us for our most successful year yet. We wish you a great start to the year and look forward to welcoming you back soon!
By Adam Hassan
The Lean Startup by Eric Ries Post Corona by Scott Galloway
Book Recommendations
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Most startups fail, but many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adapted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched. The Lean Startup contains a condensed knowledge source packed with valuable advice and a way to test the sustainability of their business model.
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The Lean Startup by Eric Ries
Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman reveals where you can and can’t trust your intuitions and how you can tap into the benefits of slow thinking. He offers practical advice that can be applied to both the home and workplace. Thinking, Fast and Slow will transform the way you think about thinking, explains the way the human brain functions, and how to fully utilize its full potential.
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Articles51 | Book Recommendations
Post Corona is an essential read for any entrepreneur working in these unprecedented times as COVID-19 transforms the industry completely. Galloway states that these new trends of working from home and the reliance on technology will not simply go away after the pandemic but will increase even more. He also shares some of his picks for companies that he believes are poised for hyper-growth in industries ripe for disruption and companies that are uniquely positioned to benefit from the current circumstance of the pandemic.
Post Corona by Scott Galloway
Partners
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