Traditions are changing in Iraq and more women and young people like 29 year-old Saja al-Bayati, are starting-up companies in the post-conflict nation, powered by an online business registration tool.
Entrepreneurs in Iraq can use a powerful "single-window" system – business.mot.gov.iq – to open their business in a few easy clicks.
The speedy service is the outcome of joint efforts by UNCTAD, the governments of Iraq and the United States and the Global Entrepreneurship Network, and it’s helped more women, like Ms. al-Bayati, a journalist and cybersecurity awareness advocate, fastrack their entrepreneurial ambitions.
Ms. al-Bayati had an interest in information technology and computers from early childhood. Through her studies, she transformed a hobby into a career path and ultimately a business.
Her company Al-Baydaq (Pawn) Information Technology specializes in raising digital awareness about cybersecurity.
“When doing my masters (in computer technology engineering) I became very interested in cybersecurity and linked my journalistic work with it to start digital awareness campaigns,” she said. “Now I help protect individuals and institutions from hacking; and drive awareness on how to protect private confidential information.”
When she wanted to take the step to formalize her business by registering it, she discovered that it was much easier than before.
“I read all the details about the one single windows portal, submitted all my papers, and paid the registration fees online by card payment without needing a lawyer,” she said. “It was the first government e-service I ever experienced and it was great.”
Women open doors to business
When opening Twilight Brightness (سطوع الشفق), a printing, marketing, events and logistics company, Asmaa Hussain Mohammed had a similar positive experience.
She said she was driven to open her business “because of the ease of the registration process and the elimination of complex routine procedures” adding that the process was “excellent and shortened the registration time” significantly.
Meanwhile Baida Imran Musa owner of Al Hayat ( الحياة), an airfield and ground services company which employs five people, registered on business.mot.gov.iq, said the process was “a good, simple and short experience”.
She even managed to open several companies at the same time on the portal. “The online registration was excellent,” Ms. Musa said.
An investment built on foresight
This is exactly why the Iraqi government invested in the online single window, to simplify and move processes online and improve the ease of doing business, for all.
The online "single-window" system simplifies a process that initially took 35 separate steps and multiple in-person visits into one that can be completed with a few clicks - or 5 easy steps - on an entirely contactless registration, regulation and reporting portal.
“The data, especially over the past 2 months, proves that digital government is removing a fundamental barrier to entrepreneurship, especially among those traditionally left out of economic activity,” said Jonathan Ortmans, president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network.
“While only 7% of those opening businesses since we launched on November 8, 2021 are women, I am confident as awareness of the single window increases that this gap will narrow,” Mr. Ortmans added.
Frank Grozel, head of UNCTAD's business facilitation programme, said: “We have pre-October 2022 data, that 2,485 businesses opened using the platform in the first 12 months; and that the online window is now seeing triple the number of registrations it did in the first two months. This shows uptake is accelerating “.
“It is a moment to be proud and demonstrates that e-registration is a critical empowerment tool for all modern governments,” Mr. Grozel said.
Another entrepreneur, Sanaa Abdel Rahim Shakeel, who opened her trading business, Qobat Al Iraq ( قبة العراق ) General Trading Limited Liability, seamlessly on the platform said most nations were moving services and transactions from paper-based to electronic.
“This improves and raises a society's culture and attitude towards these practices, creating momentum and facilitating transactions in government institutions, which is a positive thing. As women in society, we need the government's support to operate at optimum,” Ms. Shakeel said.
As online business registration grows, the government and the partners delivering the single window believe more women and young people will take to the platform to register and get operational. The impact on the economy will be telling as an increasing number of businesses start operating.