Iraq
For over 20 years, Global Communities has worked with Iraqi businesses and communities at the intersection of humanitarian assistance, sustainable development and financial inclusion.
Global Communities began working in Iraq in June 2003, just two months after the end of Saddam Hussein’s government. Over two decades, our programming has ranged from helping provincial governments effectively respond to community needs to distributing food baskets to internally displaced persons.
Today, Global Communities is at the heart of Iraq’s economic recovery, supporting small- and medium-sized businesses and homeowners who were long excluded from traditional financial services.
Through unique development finance instruments and a long-term commitment to the private sector in Iraq, Global Communities has advanced financial inclusion in partnership with Iraqi entrepreneurs and business students.
Global Communities’ work in Iraq has also included responding to significant emergencies and supporting survivors as they recover, as well as building long-term resilience for a sustainable future.
Current Programs
CHF Vitas Iraq
For years, Iraq’s small entrepreneurs and homeowners were excluded from mainstream financial services and relied on local moneylenders, who often charged prohibitively high interest rates, to fill gaps in their finances. With the aim of stimulating the Iraqi economy, in 2003 Global Communities created the Access to Credit Services Initiative, now operating as CHF Vitas Iraq, a major development finance institution that provides loans to Iraqi entrepreneurs to expand their businesses.
With access to fair financial services, some of Iraq’s most vulnerable people are improving their quality of life, enhancing their financial stability and personal safety, and improving their local economies in hundreds of communities. CHF Vitas Iraq is currently the largest microfinance provider in Iraq and offers micro enterprise, small business, home improvement loans, and a small consumer loan portfolio. CHF Vitas Iraq has fourteen branches, and 350 employees, all Iraqi. As of February 2025, CHF Vitas Iraq has a portfolio of $73 million and 22,359 clients. CHF Vitas Iraq’s lending has supported the creation of 30,000 jobs and sustained over 400,000 jobs.
Impact
282,000
jobs created
$14 million
in loans to women
150,000+
clients
News
COVID-19 Response in Iraq
As in other countries, COVID-19 has led to lockdown in major cities in Iraq and is exerting pressure on the healthcare sector all over the country. As medical facilities and municipal services are essential to sustain overall continuity, Vitas Iraq, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Global Communities, is supporting these organizations with a series of humanitarian…
Vitas Iraq: Together Against Corona
Babylon Province Wednesday, 18-3-2020 The corona crisis hit Iraq hard, imposing lockdown in major cities and exerting pressure on the healthcare sector all over the country. As medical facilities and municipal services are essential to sustain overall continuity, Vitas Iraq set a new objective to support these organizations with a series of humanitarian initiatives. The…