KRG's 'Gashanawa' Project to Support 100 SMEs

By John Lee.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has launched the second phase of the Gashanawa [Shine] Project, which will provide financial support of between IQD 1 million ($763) and IQD 150 million ($114,500) to 100 small and medium-sized enterprises in the agricultural and industrial sectors.

According to the KRG's Department of Media and Information, the project uses concessional loans and other forms of financial support to help entrepreneurs and young people establish productive businesses, with participating enterprises required to increase their workforce.

In the first phase, 24 of 25 supported businesses fully achieved their stated business objectives. Kwestan Mohamad, KRG Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, said the strong performance had given the government greater confidence in proceeding with the second phase.

In this second phase, the project now seeks to:

• Create employment opportunities: enterprises will be required to increase the number of employees and contracted workers, generating additional employment opportunities in the Kurdistan Region.
• Increase domestic production: Participating enterprises will be encouraged to increase local production.
• Revitalize key sectors: The project will now prioritize the agricultural and industrial sectors.

(Source: Kurdistan Regional Government)

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