Many women in Mosul want to start a business, but are held back by barriers such as the cost and safety of getting to market, caring for children and running a home, as well as expectations about what women can and should do.
Our Stronger Together programme – implemented in partnership with CARE Iraq, funded by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and supported by GIZ – is enabling them to overcome such challenges by equipping them with the skills, resources and emotional support to establish and grow their own businesses.
Women championing women
At the heart of Stronger Together is a mentoring scheme that sees 40 women who have already established businesses supporting another 80 aspiring entrepreneurs.
Drawing on their own experiences, the mentors provide practical guidance on everything from business planning and managing finances to pricing products and attracting customers. Their advice has helped the participants write their own business plans, covering enterprises such as sewing, cooking, handicrafts and agriculture, with a focus on climate-responsibility and using resources carefully.
In the coming months, the women mentees will receive start-up support and begin trading, with a ‘Green Fair’ planned to showcase their products and connect them with buyers.
The programme also offers psychosocial support, including group sessions and individual counselling, while working with men, families and community leaders to challenge the barriers that prevent women from participating fully in economic life.
The project in numbers
Stronger Together aims to reach around 490 people directly, as well as around 1,260 family and community members. It includes:
● 40 women trained as mentors, each supporting two of the 80 women starting or growing a business
● 120 women taking part in group psychosocial support, with one-to-one counselling for those who need it
● 120 men from participants' households joining sessions on family wellbeing and shared responsibilities
● 10 community awareness sessions and 120 household visits to build support for women's work
● Two community dialogue events with mentors, mentees, stakeholders, local authorities and community leaders.
● Training for around 60 government staff, to ensure public services better support women's livelihoods.
Mariam: ‘I have changed the way I see myself’
For years, Mariam’s creativity was largely confined to her bedroom. The 30-year-old, who lives with her grandmother in Mosul, had taught herself to engrave cups and paint on glass, but she lacked the resources to expand her small handicrafts business. She also struggled with confidence, rarely socialising or expressing her feelings.
When she heard about Stronger Together on social media, she saw an opportunity to change her circumstances. “I wanted to become stronger, and I was also eager to learn and develop myself,” she explains.
Over two and a half months, Mariam took part in intensive business training and attended 10 group psychosocial support sessions and three individual counselling sessions. She also received drawing tools, paints and other materials to help develop her enterprise.
Reflecting on her experiences, she says, “I have become better at speaking and expressing my feelings. I have become better able to manage my life.”
Mariam has also formed new friendships, become more socially active and started mentoring two other women through the programme, earning a monthly salary.
With her business now flourishing, she produces multiple engraved items each day, keeps careful records of her finances and has begun teaching her craft to friends. Her growing income allows her to pay for her own clothes, outings and personal needs.
Mariam now plans to reinvest her earnings into her business and return to education, with the ultimate goal of attending the College of Fine Arts. “I have changed the way I see myself, and I now believe in my ability to achieve things and make changes,” she says.
She also has a powerful message about how women can thrive if they have the right support. “Despite all the circumstances we have gone through, we are still smiling. We are brave.”
Ansaf: ‘I feel I have become strong’
For Ansaf, 25, the dream of owning a business once seemed impossible. As the mother of a young son, she worked in a beauty salon in Mosul but struggled to make ends meet. And though she longed to establish her own enterprise, she couldn't afford the equipment.
That all changed when she discovered Stronger Together. “I had a glimmer of hope that joining would be beneficial for me,” she recalls.
Ansaf attended business training, and received a sewing machine and equipment to help grow her small sewing business. She also took part in group and individual psychosocial support sessions.
Today, her monthly earnings have tripled, from around 50,000 Iraqi dinars to 150,000. She has also become a paid mentor to two other women, sharing the skills and confidence she has gained. “Having a monthly salary for my work was an indescribable feeling,” she says.
Her growing income helps her support her son and wider family, while she has also taught her sisters to sew. “I took responsibility for my family and started supporting myself and my son financially,” she says.
Once lacking in confidence, Ansaf now feels comfortable while socialising and going out independently. “I feel that I have become strong,” she says. ‘I am able to rely on myself.” Within a year, she hopes to open a large sewing shop, and she dreams of studying law, too.
Above all, Ansaf hopes her story will change perceptions of women. “I want people to understand that Iraqi women are very strong, patient, and ambitious.”
Stronger Together is implemented by CARE Iraq in partnership with The Lotus Flower as part of SPACE, funded by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.