Building Entrepreneurial Skills to Support MSMEs and Job Creation in Iraq

Erbil, Iraq (ILO News) 26 Feb 2025

Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the International Labour Organization (ILO) supports the development of existing micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and aspiring entrepreneurs in Iraq through entrepreneurial skills training. The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, supports this training through "Promoting Employment and Employability among Refugees, IDPs and Host Communities focusing on Women, PWDs, and Youths in Northern Iraq" partnership; Italy also provides funding to this programme through the project "Towards more and better employment through enhanced to private sectors in southern Iraq – with a focus on green business".

Under this initiative, selected trainees from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), the Central Bank of Iraq, the Chamber of Industries, universities, the Directorates of Youth and Sport, directorates of private sector development in the Ministry of Trade (MoT), banks, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have received the “Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB)” training by the ILO. This advanced entrepreneurship and business management training provides participants with the skills to sustainably support existing and potential entrepreneurs under these two projects in the north and south of Iraq.

The training aims to provide entrepreneurs with quality support services that will allow them to start or enhance the performance of businesses and, in turn, create employment opportunities for refugees, IDPs, and host communities.

SIYB is a comprehensive set of training materials and tools for MSMEs and potential entrepreneurs to help them develop and strengthen their management skills. It is structured into three separate training packages that are designed to respond to the progressive stages of business development, including “Generate Your Business Idea,” “Start Your Business,” and “Improve Your Business.”

In Iraq, the global training package was adapted to the context, including sector-specific exercises and case studies, and embarked on adapting SIYB material to reflect regional and national legal, economic, and cultural aspects, including linguistic differences. As a result, SIYB is now available in Arabic, Kurdish (Sorani and Badini dialect) languages to ensure widespread outreach in Iraq.

As part of the programme’s activities, a 10-day Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop took place in Erbil to build the capacity of 41 trainers on the programme. Following the completion of the ToT’s workshop, each trainer will train the different SIYB's training packages on the entire programme by conducting Trainings of Entrepreneurs and Trainings of Potential Entrepreneurs to fulfil their requirements as certified trainers under the coaching of the SIYB Master trainers. This will also be complemented with follow-up and consultation services for the targeted MSMEs and potential entrepreneurs.

“The Training of Trainers’ methodology will ensure the sustainability of the programme in the longer-term, by creating a capable pool of national trainers from different partners, who will continue to deliver this package to potential and existing entrepreneurs beyond the project’s duration. This initiative is part of the Iraq Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) which focuses on private sector development to create more and better jobs for all” said Maha Kattaa, ILO Country Coordinator in Iraq.

The SIYB programme has been introduced in over 100 countries and adapted to meet specific national and regional needs. In Iraq, the ILO has rolled out the package through various projects that have introduced the training to national Business Development Services (BDS) providers and which support youth women, refugees, IDPs, and vulnerable host community members who are interested in setting up their own small business or improving existing ones.