Youll have to cut Iraq some slack for being late to the tech startup party.
But it all changed this April, when Iraq hosted itsfirst ever nationwide hackathon.
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But corruption and a series of conflicts have plunged the country into chaos, severely curtailing its economic progress.
That hasnt deterred people, though.
However,widespread corruption and failure to address urgent economic reformshave threatened the countrys long-term stability.
Again, the reality was something different.
The unconducive business environment hasnt helped Iraq either.
But the public sector employed only about 2.89 million people as of last year.
But there might still be hope.
The country, once seemed a lost cause, is staging a resurrection.
Its no surprise, then, that donors and investors thronged theIraq-reconstruction conference held in Bayan, Kuwaitlast year.
But Miran acknowledges its not yet the best possible environment for startups.
Another popular shared space for innovation in Iraq is The Station.
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Need books and gadgets within 24 hours?Dakakennais the place to go.
The service currently operates out of Mosul, one of the cities that was captured by IS in 2014.
Its challenging to be your own boss, but I always liked being an entrepreneur, Alneamy said.
Theres still a lack of knowledge when it comes to running a business in general.
I had to learn it all by myself.
Dakakenna has taken advantage of the situation to build a fairly successful ecommerce model.
The suppliers are all currently located in Mosul, which enables the company to handle same-day deliveries.
Its much easier to order online.
Logistics is a major problem.
Right now were hiring our own drivers to get around the city.
There are also other challenges.
Convincing customers to pay online is one.
Most services today rely almost entirely on cash for day-to-day transactions.
Peoples distrust in the banking system.
There are no subscription models.
I was shopping the same thing over and over again, and I realized I wasnt alone.
People were queueing up in supermarkets.
That was a sign there was a demand.
But Sabah says there wasnt an ecosystem in Iraq to begin with.
We didnt know whether people would be interested.
So we built an MVP, says Sabah.
Sabah, a graduate of electrical engineering from Salahaddin University-Erbil, is no programmer himself.
He outsourced the work to an app development team based out of Erbil.
In the year since its launch, Sabah says its been a great experience.
There are difficulties, of course.
We dont go to IS areas.
Our delivery bikes are not allowed in some places, prompting us to serve customers through cars.
Then there is the aforementioned mobile payments problem.
But to get around it, Sabah came up with a solution Balancy Card.
Mobile operators like Zain and Asia Cell have also tackled the problem separately.
Complicating matters is thecurrent bureaucratic atmosphere, which imposes extensive requirements to set up and maintain companies.
The lengthy procedures have placed huge financial and operational demands on these startups.
There are no real places to ask for investment, says Sabah.
There are not enough accelerators.
We need more organizations like Re:Coded.
We need someone to tell if its a shitty idea.
We need more mentors who can guide us in the right way.
I saw millions fleeing Mosul after it was taken over by IS, says Clare.
Most of the young people I encountered had advanced degrees.
The Dakakenna founder says he has frequently fielded job-related questions from Mosul University graduates.
There is a mindset today of pushing them into looking for a government job.
Its so difficult to break this conditioning.
Even then, Clare admits the startup environment can be difficult.
This has to change.
Theres no doubt these mechanisms require the introduction of new laws, regulations, and policies.
But time is of critical essence, as theres an immediate and growing need for such long-term capital.
Iraqs challenging environment means that the sustainability of startups is often fraught with uncertainty.
Its not a bad idea to mimic global businesses here, says Clare.
These copycat solutions food delivery, e-commerce, and so on havent been replicated in the local ecosystem.
The platform also encourages members to recycle through rewards like Zain Cash or Careem credit.
Careem offers a great service, so much so that it has already decimated local players, says Sabah.
If we want to compete with them, we need to be strong local players.
Most people come up with great ideas, says Bonatto.
But it requires more than an idea to get it to the market.
This will take some time.
Part of it requires educating Iraqis about the digital economy so that they can embrace the marketplace.
But it also goes without saying the infrastructure has to improve.
We didnt have any sales for one whole week because there was no stable internet connection, says Alneamy.
We want to provide a reliable service, we want customers to count on us.
But when such outages occur, it makes us question if we should shut shop and try something else.
But Alneamy has no plans of giving up.
We dont want to be the next Amazon, says Alneamy.
Even if were able to serve 30 percent of people in the near term, itll be great.
But the market isnt yet mature enough to sustain tech businesses, and that has to change.
This is just the start of what is a very promising phase in Iraq, says Bonatto.
