USAID-Foras Snapshot: Helping US Investment Take Root in Northern Iraq

The Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR) is open for business, and U.S. companies are ready to invest in Iraq’s economic growth. On December 4, 2013, the USAID-Foras Project hosted a private sector meet-and-greet for companies based in Erbil to come together and discuss future investment opportunities. The meeting gave private sector companies a chance to network and discuss specific challenges and opportunities they face related to workforce development. Several U.S. companies doing business in Iraq and their local partners attended the event, and NIVA, Ford’s local distributor, signed up for the Foras Jobs Portal. The event supports a greater USAID-Foras objective to link qualified job seekers with the Kurdistan region’s growing economy, improving the IKR’s forecast for continued, sustainable economic growth.

The USAID-Foras Project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Mission to Iraq (USAID/Iraq), is an Associate Award under the FIELD-Support LWA, which aims to connect skilled job seekers with private sector employers, helping to alleviate unemployment and boost the Iraqi economy. The USAID-Foras Project is building linkages between job seekers and employers through training, community outreach, and a Jobs Portal designed to improve the efficiency of the labor market.