Thanks to the technical support of Zest Innovation, the Training of Trainers "Development of the Iraqi Innovation System" was held in Rome from September 29 to October 3, 2025. The course was organized by UNIDO ITPO Italy for a delegation of business managers representing the Federation of Iraqi Industries (IFI) and other public and private stakeholders in the country.

This activity is the result of a series of initiatives implemented by UNIDO ITPO Italy for the IFI within the framework of the project "Establishing a platform for innovative ideas and technologies for local industrial sectors in Iraq", implemented by UNIDO ITPO Italy with the financial support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI).

During the five-day training at Zest, the five Iraqi managers participated in various seminars, workshops, mentoring sessions, and peer-learning activities with experts on innovation and industrial development, sharing international experiences and best practices to apply to the Iraqi context.

To crown the initiative, the program concluded with a certificate award ceremony, which was also attended virtually by the President of IFI, reaffirming the strong commitment shared by all parties involved to promote international cooperation and innovation as levers for inclusive and sustainable industrial development in Iraq, in line with UNIDO's mandate.

"UNIDO ITPO Italy has been working with Iraq for years to support the local private sector through the implementation of technical assistance initiatives for institutions, associations, and businesses," commented Andrea Carapellese, Deputy Director of UNIDO ITPO Italy and contact for the Office's activities in Iraq. "In recent years, we have focused on the IFI Business Center, for which we are now developing services and training to equip it with an incubator that promotes innovative bottom-up ideas, starting with the agribusiness sector, with the aim of helping strengthen the national startup ecosystem. The strategic role of UNIDO ITPO Italy," continues Carapellese, "is in fact in building multi-stakeholder partnerships geared towards sustainability through synergies between academia, the startup ecosystem, traditional industry, venture capital and finance, the third sector, and NGOs—including through indirect support for the Italian startup ecosystem through internationalization opportunities, convergence between business and development cooperation, and strategic partnerships with new innovation hubs in developing countries."