Registration goes online
Before1 to 3 months of visits
→AfterAs little as 24 hours
A consolidated online process lets founders move forward without repeated trips to government offices.
Official KRG portalIdeas Beyond Borders · Kurdistan Region of Iraq
They brought the ideas. We helped open the door.
In one week, 998 young founders applied for a chance to start a business the formal way. Together with local partners, we helped turn a months-long registration ordeal into a process that can take as little as 24 hours.
Founders and partners at a project gathering.
998applications in a single week
30startups chosen to test the system
18registered by December 2025
7,000+new companies regionwide via the online system
The problem we set out to fix
Starting a business used to take months.
Fragmented paperwork and repeated visits to government offices meant a founder could wait one to three months just to exist on paper. Every week spent in a waiting room was a week not spent building.
“After” reflects the consolidated online process. Timing depends on the application and required approvals; registration reform does not remove every barrier.
Up to 90 days of waitingeach square is one day
Online portalAs little as 24 hours
The demand was overwhelming
998 founders raised their hands.
In one week.
Every dot below is a real application. Thirty startups were chosen to put the new registration system to the test, documenting each step so the founders who follow would face fewer obstacles.
Pilot results from the final project report, updated 18 December 2025. 18 of 30 is a 60% completion rate; other participants were still in process or did not complete requirements.
Within24 hrsbusiness name confirmed by email
One founder’s story
Brwa had an idea for Erbil. Paperwork shouldn’t have been the hard part.
Brwa Sami’s business brings together fish farming and soilless plant cultivation, a practical idea with real room to grow.
With support from the project partners, he used the new online portal and received confirmation of his business name by email within 24 hours. That is time and money he could put back into the work that inspired him in the first place.
Read Brwa’s story on IBBWhat actually changed
Small rules. Big doors.
Reform happens in the details. We are clear about what is done and what is still in progress, because donors deserve the full picture.
Start from home
BeforeOffice required
→AfterHome address allowed
Founders can use a home address as an official business office, removing a cost that stopped many before they began.
Lower startup costs
BeforeLump-sum tax, mandatory lawyer and accountant
→AfterProfit-based tax, no mandatory first-year hires
Founders now pay based on profit, and no longer must hire professionals in year one.
The work ahead
- Modernize the 1997 Companies Law
- Multi-year startup tax exemptions, still being coordinated
- Clearer steps, notifications, and tutorials on the platform
No new Companies Law has passed. This is where continued pressure matters.
A place where an idea becomes a livelihood, and opportunity becomes a reason to stay.
Back this futureHow it happened
Listen. Build. Test. Repeat.
Durable reform comes from listening to the people it affects, then putting the system in their hands.
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2023 to 2024Listen to founders
Research on registration rules, interviews with officials and business representatives, and focus groups to find the real obstacles.
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2024 to 2025Build a coalition
Briefing papers and meetings with the registration directorate, professional syndicates, education officials, and others with authority to act.
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July 2025Put it to the test
998 applications in a week. Thirty startups attempted registration and documented what worked and what didn’t.
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December 2025Celebrate and keep improving
Three Entrepreneur of the Year awards. Founder feedback shared with the registration directorate to drive the next round of fixes.
The people behind the numbers
Faces of a new economy.
Original photography from the project archive. Select a photo to enlarge.
Hear it firsthand
A different story about the region.
Faisal Saeed Al Mutar joins Atlas Network’s Michael Carnuccio to talk entrepreneurship, reform, and why young people in the Middle East deserve a reason to build at home.
Atlas Network Podcast · 4 June 2026
The next chapter starts with you
The ambition is here. Stand behind it.
Kurdistan is Open for Business shows what IBB does best: find the barriers that hold people back, work with local partners to remove them, and be honest about what is left to do.
Your gift supports Ideas Beyond Borders’ mission across the region: opening access to knowledge, opportunity, and local leadership.
KnowledgeIdeas made accessible in the languages people speak.
OpportunityPractical reforms that let people build where they live.
Local leadershipBacking the people who know their communities best.
PrintableProject brief and sources
IBB · February 2026From months to 24 hours
Rwanga FoundationClosing ceremony report
Good questions.
Who funded and ran the project?
The project was funded by Atlas Network through its Smart Bets program and implemented by Ideas Beyond Borders, Rwanga Foundation, and ECHO, working with relevant Kurdistan Regional Government departments.
Is 7,000+ the number of startups in your pilot?
No. The pilot worked with 30 startups. The 7,000+ figure is the number of new companies registered regionwide after the online system was introduced, as stated by the Directorate of Company Registration in the December 2025 project update.
Has every proposed reform become law?
No. The project advanced administrative and procedural changes under existing authority. Modernizing the 1997 Companies Law remained unfinished, and multi-year startup tax exemptions were still being coordinated at the time of the final report.
Where does my donation go?
Your gift supports Ideas Beyond Borders’ wider mission of expanding access to knowledge and opportunity across the region. Gifts are not restricted to this completed project. To discuss a designated or partnership gift, contact our team.
Is the pilot still accepting applications?
No. This site tells the story of a completed pilot. Founders looking to register should use the official KRG portal at business.digital.gov.krd.