Omar.W. Al-Handal, Managing Director of Al-Handal International Group, participated as a speaker at the USAID"Access to Finance Conference" on June 30th in Baghdad, where he spoke in detail about the untapped opportunity in Iraq's startup ecosystem.

The panel discussion, moderated by Fredrick Toohey from CrossBoundary, touched upon several key points such as opportunities in Iraq's start-up space, challenges faced by entrepreneurs, and venture capitalist, factors that make start-ups attractive to venture capitalists, changing VC environment in the country, the role of USAID, etc.

“Iraq has become one of the most attractive destinations for start-ups, especially in the tech industry owing to its growing young population followed by high smartphone penetration," said Omar.W. Al-Handal; he is also the co-founder of The Station المحطة Foundation for Entrepreneurship, a leading incubator and co-working space in Iraq.

The Iraq Venture Partners (IVP), managed by Omar.W. Al-Handal, Mohammed Khudairi, and Bassam Falah, aims to invest in high-growth tech start-ups that present the opportunity and scalability. "IVP catalysts is an Iraq-based co-investment vehicle that will invest at the preseed, seed, and pre-series A-stages and is tailored towards homegrown businesses with the option for follow-up funding. There is a significant growth opportunity in Iraq, and we feel it is the step in the right direction to capitalize on this opportunity," Omar remarked.

The Iraq Venture Partners have built their business on three key verticals - a skilled team of general partners, a localized operating model, and winning ecosystem alliances. IVP partners have significantly invested in high-growth technology start-ups, helping them accelerate in their space.