By John Lee. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani announced on Wednesday the launch of the Basmat (Fingerprint) Initiative, which provides soft loans for women to establish small and medium-sized projects, in cooperation with several national banks. Al-Sudani praised the efforts of all those who contributed to this national initiative, which aims to enhance women's participation […]
By John Lee. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani has reaffirmed his government's commitment to supporting women's rights and empowerment, directing the launch of new financial and training initiatives for women across Iraq. Chairing a meeting of the Supreme Council for Women's Affairs, the Prime Minister announced the launch of the Basmat (Fingerprint) Initiative, which will […]
By John Lee. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani inaugurated the new 'Construction Basket' initiative on Wednesday, an innovative programme designed to provide citizens with access to building materials at competitive prices and on convenient instalment terms. The centre, located at the newly-opened Cooperation Center for Construction, is a joint venture between the Ministry of […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has launched the "Knights" [Al Fursan] programme, a locally-developed initiative aimed at fostering youth entrepreneurship and supporting the private sector's role in national economic development. The launch event, held at the CBI's headquarters on 25 June 2025, was attended by Governor Ali Mohsen Al-Allaq, who emphasised […]
By John Lee. Under the patronage of Central Bank Governor Ali Mohsen Al-Allaq, a workshop has been launched to support the implementation of the bank's new strategy to increase private sector lending, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In his opening remarks, Governor Al-Allaq emphasised the bank's commitment to addressing challenges in […]
By John Lee. The Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has reported a 5.4-percent increase in banking sector loans and advances in Q4 2024, reaching IQD 64.12 trillion [$49 billion], up from IQD 60.81 trillion in the same period of 2023. According to state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA), the CBI noted that this growth reflects improved […]
By John Lee. Iraq's General Directorate for Industrial Development (GDID) has launched a new loan mechanism for small, medium, and micro enterprises (MSMEs). The loans are made in conjunction with the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), and can be worth up to 20 million Iraqi dinars ($15,000) per loan. Dr. Ali Ibrahim Janaan, Director General […]
By John Lee. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)'s Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, has launched a new initiative that will provide commercial loans through private banks to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) looking to expand. Full statement from KRG: On Monday, September 25, 2023, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) unveiled Project […]
By John Lee. The Director of the Credit Department at the Agricultural Cooperative Bank of Iraq, Hussein Hekmat Al-Ghabban, has said that loans of up to 3 billion dinars ($2 million) are available to farmers to support a range of agricultural and livestock projects. In a promotional video circulated by the Government of Iraq, he […]
The Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) gave loans to almost 1,500 individual projects in 2011, reports AKnews. Nuri Ismael, The Ministry's loans and marketing director, told the news agency that the agricultural banks in Sulaimaniya, Erbil, and Duhok provinces as well as Garmiyan area have given a total of […]
The agriculture ministry has approved 2081 loans worth 33 billion Iraqi dinars, most of them will be given to small farmers. “The loan funds’ board decided on Tuesday (April 13) during its 30th session, headed by Minister Akram Moussa al-Hakim, to approve 2081 loans,” said a ministry’s statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The […]
