With the limited entrepreneurial capacity coupled with difficulties in accessing finance, young people in Iraq have limited opportunities to start their own business. As a part of Youth 2030 strategy - UN system-wide strategy on youth that guides joint UN action for and with young people globally- and its efforts to boost long-term sustainable employment, UNDP has developed an online platform INPoint that provides a virtual Iraqi business ecosystem environment for entrepreneurs, communities, companies and institutions to interact with other stakeholders from private and public sector.

INPoint also offers an integrated Arabic e-learning online package that has been developed in partnership with the Lebanese American University (LAU). These courses are based on market demands, and relate to data analysis, business management, entrepreneurship, project and time management, leadership skills, self-marketing, communication skills, and more.

Complimenting INpoint is UNDP’s “Job Matching” pilot activity in Karbala Governorate. This initiative helped young men and women to test and use INPoint e-learning package in an offline form before its official launch.

Hear from the first wave of the participants of the Job Matching initiative about their thoughts on the training.

Maha Ghanim Ghali

“I think that this training is useful and provides the opportunity to gain experience through internship in private sector.”

Montaha Abou Dhar

“I consider this training an opportunity is important- a onetime chance on learning how to develop my skills to work in the private sector.”

Ali Abd Abbas

“Writing a CV professionally is crucial to ensure that you can be considered in the job market.”

Hassan Abd Jawed

“The work experience in the private sector and private companies nowadays is limited in comparison to that in the public sector so this training initiative is important to introduce the youth to know how to apply and be employed in this sector.”

“We benefited from UNDP’s training from theoretical aspect in writing CVs. From the practical side, I was able to have an internship for a month in Coca-Cola company and for two months in infrastructure company after this training,” says Takaa Sabih, Accounting Officer for Small Enterprises in the Amal international Construction company.

About 10,000 young people are estimated to access INPoint, in addition to approximately 100 institutions from across Iraq during the first four years after the launching.

Additional courses relating to youth and market needs will be added to INpoint’s e-learning package based on UNDP’s current partnership with Asiacell telecommunications company.

Thanks to the private sector’s commitment in employing Iraqi youth and promoting sustainable livelihoods opportunities in Karbala, 10 female and 3 male participants of the Job Matching initiative have obtained long term employment. This can be considered as an early success indicator for UNDP’s pilot activity and the INPoint platform.