Business Innovation Programs

Establishing Entrepreneurship Among Young People

The Public Aid Organization (PAO) is one of Business Innovation Programs (BIP) partners in Iraq.

After the good experiences gained from implementing the Small Business project in Camps, and because of the high number of jobless especially among new graduates. the PAO has started contacting official offices, the Ministry of Education, International Organizations and local NGOs to start Youth Enterprises Projects. In this connection, BIP tools are seen as an essential factor for success.

To get things started, the first workshop about youth entrepreneurship and how to prepare young people to be involved in the operation of enterprises and small businesses, was organized in Erbil during the 6 day period from 30th November until 9th December.

The Public Aid Organization in cooperation with Norwegian Business Innovation Programs organized the workshop with BIP trainers for personnel from PAO, ALOLA, Education Offices, and High School teachers in KRG. 20 Teachers from 10 Secondary Schools (grades 10 and 11) participated in the course in which reviewed the factors that must be available in the State and society to lead to the success of such projects. The training workshop included such important topics and addressing difficult analysis skills in small projects, in addition to reviewing the experience gained from the pilot projects for young people carried out in the Balkan countries and Norway.

Dohuk; Successful Training for Future Yezid Young Girls.

BPD chose camp Yezid course participants from Iraq to attend the 3 days Small Business Management training in Dohuk, 5-7 July. Among the participants were also girls from outside the camp. The training focused on new skills in how to manage a small business or other type of work when in charge of the activity.

This management training is an important element in making the Small Business project sustainable so that the local partners can operate the program on their own. Both the content of the training and the performance of the newly choosen BPD partners was rated 6 on a scale from 1 to 6.

BIP company leaders Bjørn Reite & Wiggo Slåttsveen attended the training and visited many camps in Erbil, Dohuk and Zakho. They met training participants who had started their own businesses with good results.

Successful MENTOR TWO Training in Erbil

BIP certified trainers from Iraq attended the 4 days mentor Two training in Erbil in period 2-5 July.2017. Among the participants were also representatives from the Iraqi Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, including the Vocational Training Directorate. Project coordinator Mr. Raed Jabbar has followed up the result of trainings in all Vocational Training Centers in Iraq. The Mentor Two training focused on Leading of Business Centers and Incubators, Growth Program, new skills in problem solving, continuous improvement and management of growth in existing companies. The Mentor Two training is an important element in making the project sustainable so that the Ministry can operate the program on their own. Both the content of the training and the performance of the trainers was rated 5,6 on a scale from 1 to 6. BIP certified trainers, MoLSA & Alola trainers are the group’s target.

From Erbil; Official Sector, Private Sector and International Organizations seek BIP Training.

UNICEF, IOM, RED CROSS, CHF and many other International organization are seeking BIP training for their target groups. Training participants get credit to start their own business. There are many success stories of this cooperation.

BIP and their main partners are doing very well for a wide group of targets.

Since BIP started activities for jobless and people looking to start their own business, many training participants have started own businesses and established new jobs for others. The main target was jobless and returnees who tried to start own business. The work moved in two directions. The first direction was, of course, training participants that were jobless and returnees. The other direction was qualifying BIP local trainers to do the job over all Iraq.

More than a hundred NGOs and organizations have benefited from BIP trainings programs. All these main International Organizations have their group target go through BIPs training in cooperation with local authorities and local NGOs which are partners of BIP. They also support the course participants with small credit.

Today the target group is wider than initially. Tit now comprises Jobless, Students, Voluntary workers, Refugees, Internally displaced persons, War children, Widows, Disabled persons, Newly graduated students, official trainers and women in business.

There are many International and National Organization, NGOs and Official Sectors that benefit from BIP training methods and are seeking cooperation with BIP local trainers over all Iraq.

BIP training methods and are seeking cooperation with BIP local trainers over all Iraq. Now, ALOLA and PAO are working hard to integrate the BPD training in the Secondary School System in Iraq. They agree that BIP training is the only way to decrease the current number of jobless and avoid a new jobless generation. Therefore, transferring the knowledge of to start one’s own business is the right way to make all the above groups ready to establishes their own businesses and jobs. Therefore, ALOLA and PAO have started a dialog with the Ministry of Education to start BIP training for students in the Secondary School System.

From Erbil; After immense success in Camps, Entrepreneurship wished for by young people.

A BIP delegation visited Erbil from June 28 until July 7. The main goal was to follow up BPD trainings in the camp for IDPs and refugees. BIP’s local partner PAO has already started a cooperation with the Ministry of Education in KRG to transfer BIP skills to young people. Therefore, the two partners made a seminar about organizing youth entrepreneurship (SE), and how to prepare young people to be involved in the set-up and operation of enterprises and small businesses. How teachers can prepare to take the lead in their schools to be trainers leaders of (BPD) was also covered. BIP Erbil staff, PAO involved staff and managers, as well as key school personnel attended the seminar.

BIP, in cooperation with the Public Aid Organization, organized a Seminar about the youth entrepreneurial projects and small businesses in junior high schools and reviewed the factors that must be available in nationally and locally to lead to the success of such projects. Training workshop included such important topics and addressed difficulties analyzing skills in small projects, in addition to reviewing the experience of the projects for young people in Norway. PAO and the attendants agreed to organize and manage a training course of (BPD) for the selected teachers next September to prepare them to become trainers in their schools in line with proposed project.

The training workshop was held in Chwarchra hotel on 1st July 2017, when many teachers & managers of secondary schools in Erbil city attended.

From Erbil; Visiting BIP Training in Camps for Refugees and IDPs; Discussing Young Enterprises with the authorities.

BIP leaders visited Erbil on 24-27 March 2017 for following up the implementation of BIP trainings for refugees and IDPs in camps with their local partner PAO. BIP and PAO met several times and discussed the results and what is new in the project. There are many International Organizations interested in BIP training, said PAO leaders. At the same time PAO has started a dialog with local authorities about Young Enterprises, because of high rate of jobless among youths and newly graduated students.

BIP and PAO together met the Ministry of Education in KRG and representatives of the Education Ministry of Federal Government and the Alola Organization. The meeting took place at the Ministry of Education building in the Kurdistan region on Sunday, 26 March 2017.

BIP presented the Student Enterprises Project to them and showed how it could be implemented in the Student Enterprise project in secondary schools. Subsquently a joint delegation from BIP & PAO revisited the Minister of Education of the Kurdistan region, Mr. Pishtiwan Sadik, to discuss the details of the project. Here, Mr. Bjorn Rete, Director of BIP, began to talk about the successful implementation of the program in the Norway, Bosnia and other countries which should act as an incentive to think about its implementation in the Kurdistan region. During the meeting, the Minister welcomed the idea and pledged support for the implementation of the project.

From Erbil; Entrepreneurship among young people.

Student Enterprises is one of the important activities in schools in development countries.

A Workshop, about youth entrepreneurship and how to prepare young people to be involved in the operation of enterprises and small businesses, was organized and held by experts from Norway.

The Public Aid Organization in cooperation with Norwegian Business Innovation Programs organized the workshop over two days as part of the youth entrepreneurial projects and small businesses in junior high schools (grades 11 and 12) and reviews the factors that must be available in the State and society to lead to the success of such projects. The training workshop included such important topics and addressing difficult analysis skills in small projects, in addition to reviewing the experience gained from the pilot projects for young people carried out in the Balkan countries and Norway.

The training workshop was held in Chwarchra hotel on 25-26 March 2017, featuring several employees from the Public Aid Organization and relevant agencies.

The seminar participants were from Education Ministry in KRG & Education Ministry in Federal Government, BIP Erbil, PAO and Alola Organization.

TOT Training for a Featured Group of IDPs & Refugees

Preparing for the next step of the project activities related to (BPD) training courses for the IDPs & refugees in camps in Iraq, Business Innovation Programs (BIP), and the Public Aid Organization (PAO) organized a (TOT) training & communication course for a group of IDPs & Refugees who were chosen from the first step training activities of the project. This group been choosen by BIP Coordinator and Certified Trainer Omar Karim Ahmed together with PAO coordinators.

The training course was organized in Erbil in the period from 16/01/2017 to 19/01/2017 for 22 participants (10 women & 12 men who came from Erbil, Dohok and Sulaymaniah).

The participantss were trained on how to communicate and carry out BPD training courses (both in theory and in practice).

The course participants practiced using different business ideas during their training simulations that were managed by Suhad Mohammed (PAO) and Omar Karim (BIP) and under the instruction of Dr.Hussein Falamarz Tahir and Hogr Cahto Shekha.