ScaleUp Academy: Graduates 10 Startups from the 3rd Cohort Successfully.
After intense training and mentoring sessions started in late January of this year, it is time to celebrate the graduation of our ten startups.
To celebrate the graduation, we were joined by representatives of the German Embassy, our partners at GIZ and Asiacell, as well as Iraqi startups, to give their word on the program’s journey and hand out their certificates!
Mohammad Jamal - Managing Director, Research at KAPITA said: “Back in 2018, there were only a few startups, mainly in the ideation phase with a significantly low number of investments and minimal access to that and market analysis.
Today we have graduated more than 100 startups from our programs and closed seven deals of investments in Iraqi tech startups by angel investors. And published more than 20 research and reports establishing the basis for a data-driven ecosystem.
All of this would have never been possible without our partners' great and generous support.”
We were honored to host Ms. Stefanie Hochheim, Counsellor of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development as she shared a few words with our startups.
Ms. Stefanie mentioned: “I feel honored to be at the occasion of releasing 10 startups into their bright future. I would like to congratulate all of them. Well done.
Your young startup has taken incredible risks, financial and reputational, all against the typical Iraqi way of relying on the government to find jobs. Instead, you want to be your own boss and generate your income.
You have a vision, and you want it to become a reality. Maybe you want to show your children what it is like to persevere, create, and build something on your own. Maybe you want to contribute to the wealth and economic growth of your country. Maybe you have ideas that can change Iraq. People like you are the motor that keeps society moving.
As German Embassy, we are more than ready to share our experiences, our partnership has grown over the years, and we will support the Iraqi government in the private sector”.
The next word was given by Mr. Niall Ardill, Advisor for Start-up Entrepreneurship Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for youth (GIZ) GmbH.
Mr. Niall mentioned: “Considering the highly competitive nature of the ScaleUp Academy, I strongly commend each and every entrepreneur that stands before us here today.”
He also talked about the continuous support of the German Government and the ICT project to the growth of these startups through their cooperation with KAPITA, which contributed positively to the job prospects of Iraqi youth.
Later in the evening, we welcomed Athir Babat, Public Relations Senior Expert at Asiacell Communications PJSC.
Mr. Athir mentioned: "Startups and SMEs, supported by a strong ecosystem, are essential to developing the economy, and for many years, Asiacell has provided the needed support to enable these businesses."
We thank our strategic partner Asiacell for supporting the ScaleUp Academy program by providing services to the startups throughout the cohort.
Moreover, Mr. Taher Tameem - Senior Programs Associate at KAPITA took the stage and shared a few words about the program: “ScaleUp Academy is a program sitting at the heart of the growing entrepreneurial scene in Iraq. from growth strategies, market research, finance, and marketing, scaleup equipped 10 startups with the know-how, and encourage them to play a major role in enhancing the Iraqi market. This empowerment was only possible by the great contributions of the trainers and mentors who have been a great asset in our mission”.
Followed by a few words from the startups, as they shared their journey in the program. Saja Mohammed Mahdi - Founder of STEMile - A specialized center for interactive education and the development of children and young adolescents, said: ”Since day one, the program sounded different, we got to meet 10 more successful businesses, we already knew and admire many of them. We began to realize that for each one of them there is another side to the story; the side of hard work, sweat, planning, ups and downs, and most importantly growing step by step with no shortcuts. We felt we are not alone on this path and there are many like us“
Furthermore, Azad Hassan - Founder & CEO at Eduba and ScaleUp Academy alumnus, mentioned: “The last three years of hard-working as a Learning Management System gives us precious experiences that the Iraqi market has many undiscovered opportunities in its pocket, specifically in the educational sector
When you hear this great news, if possible, please always remember that this comes from a huge and bloody dedication of our team, and the significant help from strategic mentors and guiders such as ScaleUp academy and kapita team”
Once again congratulations to our ten startups for their hard work and we wish them luck in their upcoming journey!
About ScaleUp Academy:
ScaleUp’ Academy Training Program, aims to graduate investment-ready scaleups. Therefore, we admit founders and key team members in an intensive 9 weeks program where they’ll receive general business and tailor-made sessions to escalate the growth of their businesses in no time. Also, the entrepreneurs will work closely with business development experts to develop their business growth strategy and recognize market opportunities.
After completion of the Academy, each startup will receive “post-graduation services (Marketing Services, App Development, Equipment Supply, Re-Branding, Printing, Designs, and more)”. These services will run for eight weeks and are needed to scale the capacity of the startups in different fields.
This program is implemented by KِِAPITA Business Hub in cooperation with GIZ, and our strategic partner Asiacell, and Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BMZ
About KِAPITA
KAPITA s a private sector development company that aims to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through investment, research, incubation/acceleration, and market development programs.