BEAT project in Kurdistan supports start-ups

By the end of June 2021, Phase 2 of the BEAT project to support potential/existing entrepreneurs in Northern Iraq (2019 - 2021), funded by the Bavarian State Chancellery, was completed, complementing Phase I (2017-2019) of the project in helping to reduce displacement from the Kurdistan Region/Northern Iraq by creating employment prospects locally.

The BEAT project supported many start-ups that could be run from home with a small amount of money. By means of the comparatively small grant amount, a total of 91 start-ups were able to take a big step into self-employment. The selected target group of women, Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons were the ones most urgently in need of international assistance in Iraq. The project was able to make a visible and sustainable contribution here.

The BEAT program complements the BINA concept in the Pishe partnership project, which is currently funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. It enables graduates of the vocational training program to start their own business. Many young people, both locals and refugees, lack future prospects in Kurdistan. Against this background, the BEAT project was and is highly relevant. Overall, it can be said that with the BEAT project, the Bavarian State Chancellery has made a concrete contribution to stabilizing the situation in Northern Iraq/Kurdistan and has given the BEAT participants a perspective for the future.