Support to Business Development Service Providers within the Project Private Sector Development (PSD)

Iraq’s oil-based economy is highly dependent on its exports. However, the country does not provide the necessary infrastructure for a business environment that enables Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to thrive. Business associations and chambers that are currently in place are rarely seen as service providers. MSMEs are often not officially registered and struggle to survive. Unemployment hits all young Iraqis similarly. Nevertheless, the GIZ Private Sector Development (PSD) project focusses on disadvantaged groups, specifically young women and returning refugees, who often lack even basic skills that are needed by private sector companies. The “Support to business development service providers in Baghdad, Basra and Erbil within the Project Private Sector Development (PSD)” project supports efforts by the Iraqi Government to foster employment promotion by focusing on regulatory reform to attract private sector investments and by enabling business associations (target group) to provide (improved) business development services for existing MSMEs and start-ups (beneficiaries).