Kurdistan hosts Global Entrepreneurship Week to empower local economy

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Meraki Venturers, a marketing and general trading company, organized the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) for empowering entrepreneurs in the Kurdistan Region capital Erbil with the support of the Mesopotamia Foundation in partnership with Korek Telecom.

"This event is called Global Entrepreneurship week, which is an international event held in 180 countries at the same time," Muhammed Salam, the organizer of GEW and CEO of Meraki Ventures, told Kurdistan 24.

"The goal of this event is to promote entrepreneurship in all ways and promote entrepreneurs to make sure that more entrepreneurs are coming out, supporting and preparing the ecosystem," he said. 

The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Department of Media and Information also supported the event.

Celebrate #Global_Entrepreneurship_Week with us from Nov 8-14! The #United_States is proud to support economic empowerment & innovation in Iraq through public diplomacy programming & public-private partnerships. Stay tuned for more entrepreneur-focused content this week! #GEW2021 pic.twitter.com/opUk8hhPHN

— U.S. Consulate General Erbil (@USConGenErbil) November 8, 2021

The United States "is proud to support economic empowerment and innovation in Iraq through public diplomacy programming and public-private partnerships," the US Consulate General in Erbil said in a tweet on Monday. 

The KRG's 9th cabinet, and especially the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, is prioritizing support for small businesses and projects in the region, KRG spokesperson Jotiar Adil said at the opening of the event. 

He added the government has concluded that the region cannot depend on oil forever. 

"That's why we need alternatives through agriculture and industry," he said. "Investment in these two sectors will provide a better future for our generation."

Salam said that "graduates can learn more" and be prepared "for starting their own businesses" if their studies include entrepreneurship. 

The event will continue until Nov. 14. It began on Monday in Rotana Hotel.  

"We are going to continue this event for the whole week. On the other days, we are going to do practical workshops at universities and fieldwork," Salam said. 

The event also had a panel that focused on women entrepreneurs. 

"(They) can change the game. There are more women entrepreneurs in Kurdistan now, and it's time to make them role models," Salam said. "So a lot of other young women can join and start their own businesses and be an entrepreneur."

One of the panelists, Laila Majeed, the founder and CEO of BonLili M-Commerce, said that it's difficult for female entrepreneurs to operate in a male-dominated sector in Kurdistan.

Another panelist, Delvin Jamil, Five One lab's Startup Support manager in Sulaimani, argued that the mentality of graduates should change. 

"We need to end this mindset of waiting for employment," she said, adding that graduates shouldn't remain inactive if companies aren't hiring. 

She talked about one young entrepreneur she knew who, after graduation, launched his own startup that hired nine people in two months. 

Also, Mazen Sirwan, Korek's Director of Communications and Digitalization, said his company is trying to support "as much as possible young people" as they can and support their ideas and businesses.

Moreover, GEW organizer Salam said that diversification of the economy is essential for the Kurdistan Region, especially in the agricultural and technology sectors. He argued that these sectors could revolutionize entire industries. 

"There are a lot of other areas our economy can depend on," he said. "And the future of Kurdistan depends on that."