We are very pleased to release the eighth issue of Business LANDSCAPE magazine, celebrating two years of serving as a platform for the Iraqi ecosystem, shedding light on the Iraqi private sector, its challenges, developments, investments, and the entrepreneurial scene.
This issue focuses on the reality of the transportation sector in Iraq. How this important market is functioning in Iraq, and the opportunities, challenges, and setbacks it is experiencing. We delve deeper into the issue that hinders one of the most vital sectors in any developing economy. While further navigating how transportation is the vein of most other sectors as it is responsible for the movements of goods and people.
We take a trip into the history and current context of the last-mile delivery business in Iraq. How to navigate the challenges that this type of business faces. We investigate the common practices in the field and the ways to sustain and expand these types of businesses that are vital to the movement of goods and products.
Furthermore, we go over the challenges of shipping to Iraq as we investigate why the world’s most renowned e-commerce giants are not shipping their products to Iraq. As well as how innovative Iraqi companies are filling this gap in the market.
In addition, we explore Iraq’s car markets as it tries to enter the digital space and have easier access to the consumer’s home rather than shuffling through numerous showrooms.
We also include two transportation report summaries from KAPITA’s Research Team. You will read about the roads and railways, where we discuss the most critical infrastructural issues and achievements in both aspects. We also provide a summary of our aviation and maritime report that delves into how both aspects have been affected by years of neglect and what steps have been taken to ensure their development.
Moreover, investments in Iraqi startups are the initial steps to develop the scene further; IAIN has been working with Iraqi Angels and Iraqi startups to facilitate investments now exceeding $1 million. On the other hand, human capital is still facing many hurdles. Most of the Iraqi youth are still looking for public sector jobs. Multiple reasons are behind this public sector orientation which we present with ways to reorient the human resources of Iraq toward the private sector. We also discuss the psychological safety of the workplace and how the current workforce values benefits such as company culture, psychological safety, and growth opportunities.
In our series of interviews, we discussed with Mr. Hussein Albayati, General Manager of Careem Iraq, who spoke to us about the journey of Careem in Iraq and how it has impacted the Iraqi business ecosystem in general, and the transportation sector in particular, and fueled the digital transformation.
While Mr. Bassam Al-Ateia, Founder and CEO of Alsaree3 Holding, spoke to us about the food delivery business in Iraq, its challenges, the role of competition in developing the market, and the importance of adequate regulations.
We also had the chance to interview Mrs. Joanne Marques, Senior Advisor at Runway Strategies, who told us about her work in the policy realm and how it is vital to the development of the private sector to have an open and transparent dialogue with the public sector to both work for the betterment of the economy.
Business LANDSCAPE looks forward to continuing its mission to contribute to the growth and development of the Iraqi private sector.
We deeply appreciate and thank everyone who contributed to this issue of Business LANDSCAPE, and we sincerely thank the GIZ for being an outstanding enabler for us.
