CoCreateMyCity KRI has officially concluded in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, marking the end of a transformative year-long journey that empowered university students to become the region’s next generation of entrepreneurial leaders.
A collaboration between Wedo Consulting and Orange Corners, CoCreateMyCity brought entrepreneurial thinking to the forefront of higher education in the region. Designed to strengthen the local economy, the programme guided student teams to identify real-world challenges, co-create market-driven solutions and build businesses with the potential for long-term impact.
From day one, CoCreateMyCity focused on practical impact. The programme began with in-depth ecosystem mappings, where student teams analysed the challenges and opportunities within their home cities. This led to tailored hackathons, where validated insights were transformed into actionable business concepts. Through a structured pre-incubation process, students refined their ideas and began building towards Minimum Viable Products (MVPs). The programme set an ambitious target: ensuring that at least 20% of the teams would reach MVP stage, ready to pursue seed funding or enter formal incubation programmes, such as Orange Corners Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
The five participating universities (Garmian University, University of Halabja, Koya University, University of Zakho and University of Raparin) each fielded five multidisciplinary student teams, selected through a rigorous, multi-stage process. The result? A diverse pipeline of early-stage ventures rooted in local insights and driven by passionate young founders!
