Iraq

PROJECTS

Women's Business Center of Baghdad

Empowering women-owned businesses

This is a privately- funded project that teams together women businessowners and entrepreneurs throughout Baghdad. The project is similar to a chamber of commerce where women come together to learn ways to improve their businesses, discuss issues, and share their business ideas.

They hope to expand programs into parts of the city, that aren't currently served and also to develop connections with businessowners and entrepreneurs in Texas and elsewhere.

Click HERE to learn more

Center for Baghdad Economic Development (CBED)

Connecting university researchers to provide critical information

This project, currently in its formative stage, is envisioned as a collaboration between universities in Iraq and around the world. Acceleros is assisting efforts to build a collaborative between the University of Texas and universities in Baghdad, to support research in the area of economic development in and around Baghdad and serve as a source of information for the City of Baghdad, business community, and the Iraqi government ministries.

Mobile Family Health Care Service

Delivering medical services out in the community

A project to provide needed medical services to all areas of Baghdad, is the focus of this initiative. Currently in the design stage, this project would assist Baghdad hospitals to deliver services in underserved parts of the city through mobile medical labs. This is a particularly critical need as many Baghdad citizens are medically underserved, and often lack the means, or are too afraid, to travel to hospitals.

Secondary School Computer Labs

Building computer literacy

When school begins in the Fall, students may find something new in their classrooms - computers. This initiative is to provide "mini" labs of 6 computers at each secondary school through a joint public-private partnership between Baghdad Internet café owners and the schools.

Small Business Information Centers

Information, assistance, and financing

This effort will lead to establishment of business information centers (BICs) throughout every district in Baghdad to serve as information clearinghouses for business and economic development, places where business owners and workers share needs and resources, and eventually serve to provide small business loans.

Accelerating Economic Recovery

Helping Iraqi business and economic development in Baghdad through private sector partnerships

Development Overview

Rebuilding a country in the aftermath of war and occupation, in any country, can be a daunting task. Afghanistan, Bosnia, Haiti, and other countries provide valuable insight into what works and what doesn't. There are many complex issues that often pose substantial barriers to reconstruction; lack of infrastructure or resources, education, market proximity, etc. all pose developmental challenges and help contribute to success, or lack thereof.

Iraq is fortunate to possess a great wealth of resources that are being built upon during reconstruction. The economic potential of the country is great. Despite its oil and mineral resources, Iraq has a large agricultural and manufacturing base. As the "breadbasket of the Middle East" and a major trading nation, Iraq was wealthy even in the days before oil. The country has also invested heavily in education and infrastructure and has the potential to rank among the world's most prosperous nations.

However, the occupation and insurgency continue to take a tremendous toll on the county. The lack of political infrastructure and ongoing violence contribute to an business environment that seems futile to many. Yet, despite this, Iraqis continue to rebuild their economic and social structures.

Model for Collaboration

The primary model for Acceleros' development efforts is based on principles that work. Shared decision making, interdisciplinary projects, and focus on sustainability greatly improve the effectiveness of development efforts.

In developing economic and social development projects the following general parameters have been developed to help determine which projects might hold the best potential:

- Create Iraqi jobs: The focus of economic development is on the employment of the citizens of Iraq, reductions in unemployment, and support for private sector business.
- Realistic and doable given current realities: Projects can be developed quickly and are realistic within environmental and resources constraints.
- Build links between ethnic/religious groups: There is a desire that projects reach a wide range of ethnic, religious, age groups throughout Iraq.
- Meet Basic Needs at the street level: Basic Needs are the ability to acquire food, clothing and shelter. To these we add health, communication, security, jobs, transportation.
- Foster Iraqi ownership and sustainability: Projects should be designed with a limited role for outside agencies while maximizing the involvement of Iraqi citizens. This helps ensure success and sustainability.

Partners in Reconstruction

There are many partners who can assist Iraqis with economic and social development - particularly private-sector businesses, international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), humanitarian and social agencies, in addition to the government sector.

Private-sector partnerships are being developed between businesses throughout the world, the Middle East, and Iraq. These business-to-business relationships are quite often able to circumvent many of the social constraints that hinder government projects. At the same time, they bring a set of organizational and finance skills to projects that are greatly needed at the current time.

All projects are highly and integrally dependent on adequate levels of security. Another precondition for success is that electricity is operable at least 80% of the time and that other infrastructure are functioning. It is also assumed that these projects will be revised on a continual basis as situations change.

Specific situations that impact development include:

- Security: Security remains a key issue and projects should be designed to lessen their becoming security targets and by the development of many distributed projects rather than large centralized efforts.
- Electricity: Electricity availability is expected to continue to be problematic in the near-term with outages for hours at a time. Electrical constraints should be taken into consideration in project selection and design.
- Transportation: While roadways are generally good, there are still some limits to traffic circulation and transportation, and roadway security issues remain. The use of local supplies and labor is strongly recommended, not only to foster goodwill, but also to minimize transportation costs.
- Communications: Telephone service is expected to continue to be an issue. Most projects will require communications but it should be anticipated that other methods of communicating, rather than telephone or Internet, might need to be considered.
- Funding: Funding for projects may come from either the private or public sector. However, public-sector financing may remain murky for some time due to the uncertainties about the governmental infrastructure. Some external funding sources, such as UN agencies and NGOs, should be considered.

Sector Projects

Like most countries, Iraq has a broad range of sectors that need to be addressed. The following sectors represent the potential areas for social and economic development projects under the parameters previously mentioned.
Sectors

i. Agriculture, hunting and forestry
ii. Fishing
iii. Mining and quarrying
iv. Manufacturing
v. Electricity, gas, and water supply
vi. Construction
vii. Medical facilities and operations
viii. Wholesale and retail trades, and repair services
ix. Hotels and restaurants
x. Transport, storage and communications
xi. Financial industries
xii. Real Estate, renting, and other business activities.
xiii. Religion
xiv. Public facilities and non-profit services
xv. Education
xvi. Health and social work
xvii. Other community, social and service activities
xviii. Private household employers

Next Steps

Individuals, companies, and organizations that are interested in the area of economic and social development in Iraq are joining together through a network sponsored by Acceleros and the Center for International Business and Economic Development. If your organization or company is interested in participating, contact us today.