Regarding the e-commerce and the digital economy in Iraq, the country is undergoing attempts to rebuild infrastructures including the telecommunications infrastructure as decades of armed conflict have ruined the infrastructures needed to engage in e-commerce in the country. There are also challenges that hinder e-commerce in Iraq; lack of ICT knowledge and skills, unstable physical network infrastructure, lack of investments, etc. Nevertheless, there are much more opportunities and enormous potential for e-commerce development. Higher rates of smartphone usage and internet access, population under ages 24 taking approximately 60% of the total population and an increasing birth rate, unregulated environment are expected to accelerate the Iraqi e-commerce industry. Perhaps, that’s why we should take the opportunity to develop the e-commerce environment in Iraq and invest in projects such as online shopping mall, platform business, and smart logistics.
Online Shopping Mall Project
Widespread development of the Internet and Online Delivery Services allowed the global e-commerce market to flourish, and the COVID-19 Pandemic has brought a huge increase in online shopping. There’s a good chance that even in the ‘New Normal’, the post-quarantine world, this shift toward online shopping will likely remain, because the advantages of online shopping aren’t going to disappear even when traditional retail businesses reopen fully. Iraq, however, is far from experiencing this reality due to many factors; high offline trade compared to its high smartphone penetration rate, poor logistics capacity, lack of internet payment system act as obstacles for e-commerce to flourish. Nevertheless, the high proportion of youth population in Iraq is expected to have a positive impact on the expansion and growth of e-commerce market. KA Group will be actively involved in accelerating the development and explosive expansion of e-commerce market in Iraq.
Platform Project
Following its rapid expansion in the mid-2010s and beyond what is familiar, platforms have now become an essential service in various industries. In particular, as many countries declared social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID 19, lots of in-person demand moved quickly to online demand, resulting in increased platform application usage, surge in demand and revenue, and eventually, the expansion of platform services market. That the industry is growing faster than ever, KA Group is making attempts to start a platform business in Iraq. While Iraq is also witnessing the growth of online market, the growth potential of platform business is still very high. By offering services that cover both ‘Banking’ and ‘Non-Banking’ services, and by offering high convenience, we will become No.1 platform services provider in Iraq.
Smart Logistics Project
Efficient logistics service with high quality is the reason behind the rapid expansion of online shopping and platform businesses in Korea. Iraq, on the other hand, is one of the underdeveloped countries in the field of logistics and is where many logistics challenges remain unsolved. Thus, in order for the country to achieve industrial and market growth, the development of logistics infrastructure and logistics processes as a whole is essential. KA Group wishes to take the head in changing and innovating the distribution and logistics in Iraq to secure its sustainable future competitiveness. Beyond domestic and overseas connection, we will strengthen the logistics infrastructure that is compatible with various industries and markets and provide a total service to all fields of logistics by building a database management system in logistics operations. Through this, we will lay a solid foundation for the expansion of our online shopping and platform business, and at the same time, we will promote various linked projects, expand infrastructure through partnership and cooperation with various companies, and make a mark in the development of logistics in Iraq.