By Yasir Al-Dulaimi ~
In a basement workshop in Erbil, copper is hammered and soldered and the ring comes off like a pulse. Coffee sets and cauldrons are hammered into beautiful replicas—of yesteryear, bound for Dubai shopfronts and Berlin sidewalks. All over around the country, from Baghdad tanneries to Najaf spice bazaars, there’s an irreversible revolution in progress: “Made in Iraq” no longer a mocking blessing. It’s a mark of triumph, pride, and hope.
With a fifty-year history of war, sanctions, and economic ruin behind it, indigenous Iraqi industries are rising back to the fore. Indigenous enterprise, entrepreneurial creativeness, and newly re-established century-old traditional arts are building a rebuilt economy. And it’s not only jobs it’s creating along the way—it’s rebuilding identity.
A Generation of Builders
Peddling her hometown-made natural beauty products to 29-year-old Huda Karim was not just a business venture—it was a jihad.
“I wanted to demonstrate that locally produced Iraqi products could compete—if not better—than imports,” she says, holding a bar of her best-selling frankincense-scented saffron soap. Basra Botanicals, which she founded, imports frankincense, olive oil, and date extract from southern Iraqi farms. What began as a hobby venture in her home kitchen now exports to seven countries.
Huda is one of a new generation of Iraqi entrepreneurs leading the charge for what has been hailed by some as an economic renaissance. Iraq’s private non-oil sector economy steadily modestly picked up in 2022, with domestic industry, agriculture, and services contributing partially, states World Bank.
From Crisis to Creativity
War wiped out a generation and crippled Iraq’s indigenous production equipment, factories looted or destroyed and discount foreign goods pouring onto the shelves. But where there’s a will, there is a way.
Inside Baghdad’s Karrada district lies a refurbished ancient mill that is now a co-op makerspace. Operated by Ruwwad al-Iraq, a non-profit, it educates and equips young fashion designers, seamstresses, and weavers. Its most famous alumna is perhaps Zaynab Wear, the high-end fashion boutique retailer. It creates modestwear in stylish silhouettes with timeless embroidery.
And now, with the internet sites and microcredit added to the equation, young Iraqis are able to peddle their homemade wares in ways they never could before. Iraq Tech Ventures and FikraSpace are just two of the companies that have been at the forefront of matching people to mentors, money, and markets—both domestically and internationally.
Revival with a Twist
Its own heritage is being retaken, as well, as Iraqis work day and night to save—and revive—arts of old.
In Najaf, skilled artisan Salim Jabbar introduced ceramics to at-risk youth through a grass-roots initiative known as Hands of Heritage.
Similarly, those old hand-tufted kilims have again been discovered in Sulaymaniyah, and foreign buyers are battling to purchase them. Stamped UNSECO and co-operatives-, the kilims now sell as fair, sustainable products—profit and dignity for their women weavers. UNESCO’s Iraq Programme on Intangible Cultural Heritage now actively encourages such practice.
Iraq’s Taste on the Global Table
The true agriculture, so fragile in the hands of global warming, is being given a new lease of life more and more after greater investment in green technology and irrigation. And triumph with local food stamps now means that. From tomato patches in Wasit to date processing units in Karbala, Iraqi food is filling the supermarket shelves—and supper plates—and making them specially significant again.
Buy Local, Believe Local
There is also altered consumption behavior among Iraqi nationals. There is a re-emerging “Buy Iraqi” culture among nationals of younger generations while markets for imports are getting flooded. Social netizens and social media campaign like #MadeInIraq are also endorsing Iraqi brands and creating economic and cultural independence pathways.
Support from the government is in the plans but in slow gears. Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Ministry policies are providing subsidies and tax relief to exporters and small business proprietors.
However, businessmen assert that ultimate triumph is available only through structural transformation: consistent government, fair taxation, and increased law enforcement protection. Here, nevertheless, one senses something can be done.
A Future Woven at Home
From Kirkuk to Mosul, the craftsmen, the producers, and the idealists are proving to the world that it’s not just a line of integrity—it’s a movement. And in each one-by-one handmade soap bar, in each one-by-one handmade date bar, something positive is being built: an economy—and a country—born out of its own hand.
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