November 16th held a big milestone in a project I'd been part of for 18 months: the build-up of a "Business Development Manual" — a booklet of topics that help young students and enthusiasts build their MSMEs and startups, and in turn create more jobs in the Iraqi economy.
Today was the official handover of this booklet to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research by GIZ Iraq, the European Commission, and the 12 individuals responsible for writing and collecting it. Back in early 2020, I was honored to be tasked by GIZ and the MoHESR with building the team of authors, and even more honored that those 11 outstanding colleagues trusted me to coordinate the whole thing.
Now it's a reality: 248 pages across 10 chapters that take a student, graduate, or unemployed person on a journey to sharpen their skills and build a better life for themselves and their families. It's designed to support self-study and to be used freely by vocational training, private-sector entities, and anyone who needs it. A realization, too, that I'd moved into a sector as important as education — and a responsibility to keep implementing joint projects that foster prosperity for Iraqis.