Speeches Shim

For Tahani, 39, going to the beauty salon is a powerful experience. “Every time I would go to a beauty salon, I would leave feeling confident and beautiful,” said Tahani. “My dream was that one day I would have my own salon so that I could make other women feel the same way.”

Standing proudly in front of her new shop, Nadia, 43, waits for her little customers – children from her neighborhood in Bashiqa, Ninewa. A mother of two, Nadia knows the way to children’s hearts: delicious candies and homemade biscuits!

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through the Water and Energy for Food Grand Challenge (WE4F) Middle East and North Africa Regional Innovation Hub (MENA RIH), announced today the seven WE4F Iraqi winners of the Call for Innovations. This program selects small- and medium-sized Iraq-based enterprises with innovative solutions to grow more food while using less water and energy. The selected Iraqi winners will receive a total of $1.5 million in customized financial, technical, and investment support to grow their businesses, combat resource scarcity, and advance Iraq’s transition to a green economy.

Iraqi food and last-mile delivery service Alsaree3 raised over $4 million in 2021 thanks to advisory support from the Tahfeez program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID). USAID support connected Alsaree3 with new investors and supported the company in finalizing the investment process, resulting in Alsaree3 raising over $1,000,000 in fundraising in late December from investors based in Iraq and across the Middle East and North Africa.

“I forget all of the day’s hard work when I come back home and see the smiles on the faces of my children,” Naif, 42, who runs his own welding business in Sinjar. Naif, husband and father of five children, fled from Sinjar in 2014 – like other Yezidis – to escape from ISIS.
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Last updated: May 10, 2022
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