June 9, 2022
News
Nabil Nihad Jiyad is a 27-year-old man from the Al-Baghdadi district in Iraq. He is married and lives with his wife in an unfinished house, that he does not own. Since he was a little boy, Nabil dreamed of opening his own carpentry shop for riverboats. But after the arrival of ISIS, he could not find any job, let alone start his own business. Thanks to Caritas Czech Republic and UNDP, Nabil now has his own general carpentry and riverboat carpentry shop.
Nabil's dream has become a reality
Nabil graduated from Anbar University’s College of Education with a degree in Arabic. He worked as a taxi driver in his uncle’s car and used the earnings from this job to renovate his house. But the arrival of ISIS made his life difficult. Nabil was unemployed and tried to work as a self-employed person, but without any luck.
Nabil never gave up on his childhood dream of opening a carpentry workshop for riverboats. His home region has a large number of fishermen, so Nabil thought he could provide them with annual maintenance. He had passion and love for this project, but he did not have enough money to start the business.
Through a friend, Nabil learned about the existence of an organization that gives grants to small projects,and also saw the announcement of registration for this initiative on Facebook. Nabil wanted to present a different idea to register in the program. "I was confident that my project idea would be useful for the region and that I would get the funds to make it happen”, he said.
Nabil decided to go to the registration center, and even helped and guided other participants on where to register and how to register. After three weeks of registration, Nabil was chosen and accepted by the organization to participate in the program and to be granted financial support.
Nabil starts his own business in carpentry
Initially, Nabil participated in business and financial management training, and in this course, he also contributed to writing signs and directions due to his writing skills as a graduate of the Arabic language department and his nice handwriting. He benefited from the training, which lasted eight days and taught him how to manage his own business as well as market and promote his work.
Nabil received the first installment of the grant and was finally able to start his own carpentry business, purchasing basic hardware and lumber for the boats. Nabil added, "As I am now the owner of the shop and have clients and job demands, time has changed and my ideas have evolved. People's perceptions of me have shifted from unemployed to successful person, and I have begun to rely completely on myself and my project."
Nabil's income increased as a result of the grant and support for the start-up of his own business, and he was able to develop his business and purchase some more materials and equipment. He was also able to organize his time and life, and his circle of social relations expanded.
“I would like to thank Caritas Czech Republic and UNDP for this opportunity and for supporting me in starting my current business," Nabil said.
"If you want to reach your goal, you will," he added, "but most importantly, you must first begin."
The project is implemented by UNDP Iraq in partnership with Caritas Czech Republic in Iraq with funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Germany) provided through Kfw Development Bank.
