Global Entrepreneurship Week in Baghdad: Igniting innovation and collaboration

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is celebrated annually as the world’s largest initiative to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and startups. This year, Baghdad was at the heart of this dynamic global event, with a series of workshops, hackathons, and discussions hosted in three innovation hubs; The Station, Hub200, and Makers of Baghdad. Entrepreneurs, innovators, and aspiring startup founders from across Iraq gathered to share ideas, network, and push forward the nation’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The Global Entrepreneurship Week in Baghdad: A remarkable celebration

Global Entrepreneurship Week, launched in 2008 by the Global Entrepreneurship Network, now spans over 170 countries. In Baghdad, this year’s GEW offered a unique blend of events tailored to local challenges and opportunities. The celebrations aimed to provide resources for budding entrepreneurs while fostering collaboration between established businesses and innovators.

Key objectives of GEW Baghdad:

• Empower local entrepreneurs with essential skills and knowledge.
• Foster collaboration across industries to drive innovation.
• Highlight the role of entrepreneurship in economic growth.
• Inspire the next generation of innovators and changemakers.

Events at The Station

Essential skills in fintech and product management

• Date: November 18
• Sessions:
  • TheMetro Session: Essential Skills in Fintech – Presented by Ammar Al-Khatib, Co-Founder and CEO of Uplevel, this session explored the critical skills required to thrive in the rapidly evolving fintech industry.
  • Fundamentals of Product Management Workshop – Led by Mohammed Ali, Product Director at 1001, and Ahmad Fahad Al-Shagra, Chief Platform Officer at 1001, this workshop provided participants with an in-depth understanding of managing digital products effectively.

Population Statistics Online Session

• Date: November 21
• Speaker: Mahdi Al-Alaq, President of the Iraqi Association for Statistical Sciences, discussed the significance of population data for business and innovation strategies in Iraq.

Game development and growth hacking workshops

• Dates: November 22-23
• Sessions:
  • Essential Skills Session: Game Development – Focused on building foundational skills for game design and development, this session encouraged creative and technical talent in the gaming industry.
  • Fundamentals of Growth Hacking Workshop – Guided by industry experts, this session highlighted innovative ways for startups to achieve exponential growth through data-driven marketing strategies.

Joint Digital Transformation Hackathon: The grand finale

• Date: November 24
• A collaborative effort featuring mentors from various disciplines, this hackathon brought together the best minds to devise cutting-edge digital solutions for real-world challenges.

Also, check out: Central Bureau of Statistics: Iraq’s imports reach $24.6 Billion in 2023.

Programming at Makers of Baghdad

Joint Digital Transformation Hackathon (Day 1 and Day 2)

• Dates: November 18-19
• The two-day hackathon focused on problem-solving and digital innovation, culminating in actionable prototypes. Teams were mentored by top industry leaders and trainers, ensuring impactful outcomes.

Designing Tomorrow’s Customer Experience (UI/UX Workshop)

• Date: November 22
• Trainer: Mustafa Naser, Senior iOS Developer at Miswag, led this session, equipping participants with tools and strategies to craft customer-focused digital interfaces.

Data-Driven Decision-Making: From numbers to action

• Date: November 22
• This session provided a practical framework for leveraging analytics to inform business decisions. The speaker emphasized actionable strategies for data interpretation.

Women’s Entrepreneurship Session: The Qudra program

• Date: November 23
• This inspiring session, led by a panel of prominent female entrepreneurs, emphasized the critical role women play in driving innovation and highlighted successful women-led ventures in Iraq.

Young Innovators: Building digital solutions

• Date: November 23
• Presenter: Fatima Jassim, Program Leader at IoT KIDS, encouraged young participants to explore the potential of IoT technologies to solve pressing societal issues.

HR goes digital: Transforming people management

• Date: November 23
• Presenter: Naba Hussein Ali, Senior Human Resources Officer at Earthlink Telecommunications, shared strategies for integrating digital tools into HR practices to enhance workforce management and productivity.

Events at Hub200

Product lifecycle of Miswag session

• Date: November 19
• Presenters:
  • Mustafa Naser, Senior iOS Developer at Miswag, and Auns Ahmed, Associate Product Manager at Miswag, shared their experiences in managing the lifecycle of a digital product, from conception to execution.

Women Techmakers Event

• Date: November 23
• A celebration of women in technology, this event featured inspiring talks and discussions aimed at fostering gender diversity and inclusion in Iraq’s tech industry.

Joint Digital Transformation Hackathon (In-person training)

• Date: November 22
• This intensive session involved hands-on training for entrepreneurs to refine their solutions and prepare for the final competition.

Learn more about Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN).

Why GEW matters to Baghdad’s future

Baghdad’s participation in GEW highlights the city’s commitment to fostering a vibrant startup ecosystem. As Iraq rebuilds and diversifies its economy, events like these play a crucial role in:

• Empowering youth with skills for the future.
• Connecting local entrepreneurs with global networks.
• Promoting innovative thinking to address societal challenges.

Conclusion

The Global Entrepreneurship Week in Baghdad 2024 was a resounding success, shining a spotlight on Iraq’s entrepreneurial spirit. Through hackathons, workshops, and networking events, participants left inspired and equipped with tools to turn their ideas into impactful businesses. This week-long celebration demonstrated that Baghdad is not just a city of rich history but also a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.

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