The Iraq Response Innovation Lab (IRIL) has completed a study to explore the potential of renewable energy sources in Iraq in the light of their experience with using solar energy for the incubated agribusiness projects in 2021 and the challenges that accompanied that they encountered.
Learn more about the Two Studies here:

Renewable *Energy Reflective Study

*Recycling Reflective Study

The latest startup that has reached the last stages of the Incubation Process is Al Bustan Mobile Application. Al Bustan Application is a mobile application that links farmers, service providers and consultants in a streamlined way. It is being developed to help farmers to move towards improving their production and increasing productivity by facilitating market linkages. The application is under development specifically for the Mosul market, and expected to launch as a pilot within the month of July 2022.

Work for all is an initiative that was launched by the Iraq Response Innovation Lab to support employment in Iraq. As Iraq struggles to recover from the war with ISIS, economic hardship and the impact of COVID-19, people from diverse backgrounds and educational levels have had difficulty accessing employment. [Unemployment rates in Iraq].
Learn more about Work for All here

Social enterprises are sustainable businesses with primarily social or environmental objectives. While the social enterprise adapts the ways that businesses function, their primary objective is to maximize social benefit. Social enterprises use business tactics and modalities to fix, or minimize the negative effect of, a certain issue in society. In Iraq, this concept is new, however, SIDA, alongside Oxfam’s partners and the Iraq Response Innovation Lab, launched an incubator open to local NGOs (Nongovernmental Organizations) willing to create sustainable social enterprises.Learn more about Go Green here

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Watch a video from the incubator here

Our labs are supporting several innovations that directly benefit refugee populations, learn more about these innovators and their pursuit to support their communities and others.

In December 2020, RIL held a week-long virtual global retreat to share reflections from the past year on each of the humanitarian responses and challenges, success, and plans for the upcoming year. Each session is about 30 minutes long.

UNDP Accelerator Labs, Honey Bee Network, and GIAN have jointly organized the first International annual competition for creative & innovative ideas or traditional knowledge practices around the world, which solve day-to-day problems. Life Shelter received this International Award among 2,500 solutions around the world.

The Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) produced a report in November 2020 on the future of technology and innovation from the COVID-19 response. The Response Innovation Lab’s both in Iraq and Uganda were highlighted.

Response Innovation Lab is working with Save the Children’s Migration and Displacement Initative (MDI) and their Predictive Displacement Project to host local convener events.

The world is counting on innovations in virology, epidemiology, and other medical fields to deliver a vaccine for the novel Coronavirus and treatment for Covid-19. These breakthroughs are likely to be made in labs from the world’s leading economies. However, there is a critical second tier of issues whose solutions are already emanating from much more diverse contexts. NGOs in resource-poor settings are trying new methods of sharing information through multi-media channels and new forms of content. While these types of innovation may not lead to a cure for the disease, they are addressing critical problems in its transmission and spread; in addition to the direct implications of this pandemic, the long-term impact on the well-being of individuals remains obscure and will inevitably add another layer of challenge to people’s lives

I worry about Iraq. My main concerns are the same as many Iraqi people – we worry that we might never have a country where people live in peace. We are also worried about our personal safety. I’m from the Khanqeen district in the Diyala governorate. It’s a small city with a Kurdish majority. I graduated from University in 2013 but like many Iraqi students, I didn’t find a job easily after I finished my studies, which was not what I was expecting. I thought after I graduate my dream job will be waiting for me the next day. Within a year of my graduation, ISIS took over many places in Iraq, including Jalawla and Sadiya’a subdistrict in Khanqeen. ISIS was 15 kilometres away from my home.

See what each of the labs is doing to prevent and fight COVID-19 in their responses.

Pharx, an innovation supported by the Iraq Response Innovation Lab is highlight in The Guardian.

The Iraq Response Innovation Lab Iraq (IRIL) is launching an Incubator to support innovative agri-businesses / start-ups in Iraq with Mentoring, Training, and Funding to pilot/grow their projects.

Nathalie Rami, Lab Director, is interviewed by local media on the lab’s work in refugee camps.

I worry about Iraq. My main concerns are the same as many Iraqi people – we worry that we might never have a country where people live in peace. We are also worried about our personal safety. I’m from the Khanqeen district in the Diyala governorate. It’s a small city with a Kurdish majority. I graduated from University in 2013 but like many Iraqi students, I didn’t find a job easily after I finished my studies, which was not what I was expecting. I thought after I graduate my dream job will be waiting for me the next day. Within a year of my graduation, ISIS took over many places in Iraq, including Jalawla and Sadiya’a subdistrict in Khanqeen. ISIS was 15 kilometres away from my home.

A snapshot visual of what the Humanitarian Innovation Ecosystem looks like in Iraq.