News & Events
Short updates on Irada’s work with its members and partners: the programmes we coordinate, the events we take part in and the initiatives we start.
8 items
In August 2026, the Communications and Media Commission (CMC) and Zain Iraq launched an AI training programme for the Commission’s senior staff, coordinated by Irada in partnership with KAPITA Research. The training covered AI strategy and governance, practical tools and data analysis. Its first stage concluded on 24 September 2026, with participants presenting applied projects.
From 17 to 23 November 2025, under the global theme “Together We Build”, Irada coordinated Global Entrepreneurship Week activities with its member organisations and with partner spaces, several of which have since joined the network. Hackathons on AI and climate action, forums for women entrepreneurs, meetups and pitching sessions took place in Baghdad, Mosul and Najaf.
In October 2025, Endeavor Jordan brought regional entrepreneurs and investors to Baghdad to explore Iraq’s market. The main gathering, held with Zain Iraq on 18 October, combined panels, one-to-one meetings and networking. Irada helped coordinate the visit and connect it with Iraq’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
In August 2025, Irada launched AnaRaqami (I’m Digital), its initiative against digital illiteracy in Iraq, in partnership with Zain Iraq. Started by Irada in 2024, the initiative runs under the patronage of the Communications and Media Commission (CMC) and offers young people free digital-skills content and training.
From 6 to 9 April 2025, Irada led an Iraqi ecosystem delegation to the World Summit Awards (WSA) Global Congress in Hyderabad, India, with support from Zain Iraq and GIZ Iraq. The delegation brought together nine Irada member organisations and seven Iraqi startups, who took part in roundtables with WSA winners, pitching and feedback sessions, and a workshop on measuring social impact.
From 18 to 24 November 2024, Irada coordinated Global Entrepreneurship Week activities with its member organisations in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, with workshops, talks and a hackathon for young people and founders. The week closed in Baghdad with the Digital Transformation Hackathon final, where teams pitched their solutions.
On 20 and 21 July 2024, KAPITA, one of Irada’s founding members, organised DTI Youth, the Digital Transformation Initiative Youth summit, with Sippar at the Baghdad International Fair, under the patronage of the Prime Minister’s Office and the Communications and Media Commission (CMC). Irada helped KAPITA organise the summit, whose sessions covered infrastructure and connectivity, fintech, cybersecurity and the digital economy.
In 2024, a team from Flat6Labs, a startup accelerator that invests in early-stage companies across the Middle East and North Africa, visited Baghdad to get to know the city’s startup community. Irada coordinated the visit.
