UNIDO & ENI for a Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Iraq

This UNIDO, ENI & LVenture Group initiative for a sustainable entrepreneurship in Iraq is aimed to identify, support and promote innovation in the water, energy and agriculture sectors, that could lead to local social, environmental and economic improvements. Namely, the initiative foresees training and incubation phases to develop and support sustainable innovative business projects in the Agritech and Agro-energy fields, creating a matching with the Italian ecosystem in the relevant sectors.

The initiative is promoted by UNIDO ITPO Italy, the Investment and Technology Promotion Office of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Eni Iraq B.V., Eni Joule and LVenture Group - a holding company listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, that invests in digital startups, with the support of local institutions and within the framework of the UNIDO project “Investment Promotion for Iraq – Phase II” funded by Government of Italy, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.

Applications to the Call must be received by June 2nd 2022, through the following link: Registration form

Art. 1 – Objective of the Call

This Call has the objective to scout and select 30 trainees from the area of Basra Governorate to develop their business model and to prepare ad hoc pitch decks on specific ideas and proposals in agritech and agroenergy.

The Call seeks to create a virtuous circle of connections between the private, academic, financial, and institutional world between Italy and Iraq and to support local private sector and startup ecosystem, contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.

Art. 2 – Admissible Candidates

The Call is addressed to individual applications from companies, SMEs, startups, university spin-off, research centers and students dealing with agricultural issues, technology and innovation.

The joint participation of candidates in team will represent an added value; belonging to a team will have to be indicated and well-motivated in the application process.

The organizers encourage the participation of proposal at any level of development, from very early-stage ideas to scaling up projects, but also innovative technologies under testing and evidence collection.

Participation to the initiative is free of charge.

Art. 3 – Admission Criteria

The applications sent by admissible candidates will be submitted to a screening phase and will be considered only if complete in all their parts, in English language, and coherent with the Call’s objectives. The main selection criteria are based on business vision, personal strengths, entrepreneurial mindset and technical skills.

The organizers have the faculty to request additional information to complement the candidature, if deemed necessary.

Art. 4 – Training Program

Once the application phase has been completed, the trainees will be informed about the outcome of the selection and included in the training and mentoring program that will take place in person at the Enterprise Development Center in Basra during a period of about a month in June in a formula weekend full immersion.

The objective of the training is to enable the selected participants to learn the techniques required for the development of innovation and entrepreneurial mindset and to develop business concepts and innovative projects, especially in the agritech and water management sectors, through a dedicated integrated approach.

Participants will be given the opportunity to develop and submit a project through practical experience and mentorship.

Support will be provided in 4 sessions in which the organizers will analyze the experiences of the participants and the proposed projects stimulating their development following the lean startup techniques. The program is designed in such a way as to complete the learning through a project work.

Art. 5 – Pitch Competition and Business Trip

The training program will end with a competition in which trainees will present their business concept to an ad hoc jury that will evaluate their pitch decks according to defined criteria:

• Presentation clarity in order to evaluate the completeness entrepreneurial proposal.
• Project innovativeness in order to evaluate the degree of innovation of the entrepreneurial project.
• Sustainability impact in order to evaluate the ability of the project to generate sustainable impact for the environment and the society.
• Performance and commitment in order to evaluate people engagement in the entrepreneurial project.

The best 15 trainees will have the opportunity to join a business trip to Italy in Autumn 2022.

The evaluation process will be in line with the highest ethical standards and purposes of this initiative.

Moreover, the best trainees will benefit of honest brokering, advisory and mentorship services to access – through ad hoc promotional activities – to the UNIDO, ENI and LVenture network with the aim to guarantee visibility to the winning proposal and dedicated networking.

Art. 6 - Data Protection

Participants' personal data will be processed by the organizers of this Call, acting as autonomous data controller, in compliance with the regulations on personal data processing. In particular:

ENI

Eni will process participants' personal data for its own purposes also in compliance with the privacy policy attached to this document. The participant undertakes to read it.

UNIDO ITPO Italy

During the submission phase, applicants are asked to provide personal (including submission date and applicant’s IP address) and non-personal information. This information is collected only with the user’s knowledge and permission, and it is kept in the JotForm Inc. platforms, outside UNIDO ITPO Italy systems. Personal data will only be used by UNIDO ITPO Italy, for the following purposes: internal audit, to communicate with applicants and sending information about this initiative. Personal and non-personal data will not be made available to third parties without previous applicant’s authorization, except for ENI and LVenture Group, partners of this initiative. In addition, personal and non-personal data may be also disclosed to Law Authorities for security reasons.

Participating applicants acknowledge that the organizer intends to carry out a fair and open competition, with no expectation of incurring liability by virtue of such participation.

Applicants declare that any images or footages involved in the applications were taken by them or that they received permission to use them, and that such materials may be used by UNIDO as provided for in these Terms and Conditions. Applicants also declare that, if applicable, permission to submit the entry in this competition has been given to them by their employer.

Applicants accept that they will be contacted on follow-up activities arising from this competition by the Organizer.

The UNIDO ITPO Italy privacy and disclaimer apply. Links to non-UNIDO websites are provided solely as a pointer to information on topics that may be useful to UNIDO staff, Member States and the public.

The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by UNIDO as to the legal status of such countries or territories, of their authorities and institutions or of the delimitation of their boundaries.

The mention of names of specific companies or products (whether or not indicated as registered) does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of UNIDO.

Applicants acknowledge that UNIDO and UNIDO ITPO Italy are not going to be part of any non-disclosure agreement with respect to any document or information of any kind or nature that applicants submit to the Competition ("Disclosed Information"). All disclosed information is expressly agreed to be not confidential, with no restrictions on the use or disclosure of the disclosed information.

Nothing in and relating to these Terms and Conditions or the competition will be deemed a waiver of any of the privileges and immunities of UNIDO and UNIDO ITPO Italy.

Applicants release and hold UNIDO and UNIDO ITPO Italy harmless from any claim, liability, damage, demand or action, of any kind or nature arising out of any of the activities of the competition –  including without limitation: (i) decisions on competition winners and disqualifications, regardless of whether such actions are willful or negligent, and (ii) any other injury, loss, cost, harm, liability or damage sustained by applicants as a result of any participation in the Competition, regardless of whether such injury, loss, cost, harm, liability or damage results from negligence or willful misconduct of the Organizer.

Organizers

UNIDO is the specialized agency of the United Nations promoting industrial development initiatives under the strategic goals of reducing poverty, promoting inclusiveness and supporting environmental sustainability. UNIDO ITPO Italy (the Investment and Technology Promotion Office based in Rome) was created in 1987 and has the mandate to enhance the competitiveness of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries, through the mobilization of investments as well as the transfer of technology, innovation and management skills together with capacity building activities required for the implementation of industrial projects and SMEs upgrading in developing and emerging countries.

JOULE is the Eni’s school for entrepreneurship, committed to offer entrepreneurial training and pragmatic opportunities for business development. Joule is also active in supporting incubation activities to sustain Italian startups and to enhance the impact of entrepreneurs sharing the vision and values of fighting against the climate change, supporting sustainable economic growth and/or working to decarbonize our economies.

LVenture Group is a holding company listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, that invests in digital startups and accelerates them from prototype to market through its LUISS EnLabs Accelerator, born from a joint venture with LUISS Guido Carli University, which has grown into a point of reference in Italian innovation ecosystem. LVenture Group is one of the most active Venture Capital firms in Europe.

For any further information regarding this Call please contact: itpo.rome@unido.org