Enterprise Development Fund Innovation is part of the broader EDF framework, designed to exclusively target ‘innovation’ supporting both innovative start-ups (at the ideation stage) and early-stage innovative businesses (those that can demonstrate product-market fit) with significant potential to create sustainable jobs in, but not limited to, the technology sector.
The tech and start-up industry in Iraq is still at a nascent stage and represents an underexplored market segment in Iraq. Supporting businesses to nurture innovation and explore new ways of thinking about business management opens up blue ocean markets that can create and absorb young, innovative jobseekers and entrepreneurs.
EDF-i investment partnerships
To account for the additional risks associated with start-ups and early-stage businesses for both the entrepreneurs and the investors, the EDF-i works with various innovation hubs and local incubators to receive referrals of applicants.
IOM is partnering with Asiacell, a leading provider of mobile telecommunications and data services in Iraq, to provide training and mentorship and to integrate mobile money into new and existing business operations.
IOM is also partnering with Five One Labs, a start-up incubator that helps diverse entrepreneurs in Iraq to launch and grow their businesses. Five One Labs provides technical expertise and inputs at different stages of EDF-i grant cycles
Since 2020, IOM has been partnering with KAPITA, a private sector development company based in Iraq. KAPITA Business Hub currently offers investment, research, incubation, acceleration, and market development services for SMEs, and will work closely with IOM in identifying, mentoring, and coaching tech entrepreneurs from the center and south of Iraq.
In 2022, IOM partnered with the Station, a non-profit organization and one of Iraq’s lead coworking spaces and entrepreneurship providers to connect businesses and strengthen the innovation ecosystem across Iraq. The station provides technical oversight and operational support not limited to referrals, mentorship, and other capacity-building activities for Iraqi entrepreneurs.
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EDF Overviews -
EDF Innovation Overview (EDF-i)
EDF Adaptation Assessments -
Technology And innovation In Iraq
EDF Innovation
