There are currently 44 landlocked countries worldwide. The largest by area is Kazakhstan, in Central Asia, while the most populous landlocked country is Ethiopia, in Africa. The vast majority, 32, are developing countries, mostly in Africa and Central Asia. 17 of them even fall into the category of "least developed countries," which describes nations that combine low income, low development and economic instability. For these countries, the fact that imports and exports must transit through at least one neighbouring state (and often change modes of transport) represents a significant additional cost and handicap. In Logistics and Supply Chain terms this means 30-40% or even higher additional costs.
As a landlocked entity, the Kurdistan Region in Northern Iraq (KRI) is dependent on problematic neighbours — war-torn Syria, sanctioned Iran, federal Iraq, and Turkey — for imports and exports. Ideal location for a Landlocked-Lab to explore how best landlocked countries can meet the UNs Strategic Development Goals by 2030 and everything to do with Net Carbon Zero by 2050. What can be done on Energy, food and protein security as well as transformational entrepreneurship to make things happen.
With almost 100 years of oil in reserve and substantial new finds possible, Iraq has the potential to be a global player – especially with Russian constraints. The KRI produces about 400,000-450,000 barrels per day of oil; about a tenth of the national total. The fields are smaller and more geologically challenging than those in southern Iraq and, given increasingly tough global climate policies and the advance of renewable energies, the KRI is faced with a more immanent challenge to diversify the economy, exports and KRI government revenues.
Food and protein security is a pressing global challenge one of the key UN SDGs. The KRI sits on some of the most fertile soil in the Middle East. Despite the potential to be self-sufficient, scarce reserves are being diverted to imports – back at the landlocked challenge. Agriculture generates around 6% of employment. This could rise and, with the use of increasingly high-tech agri-business techniques can be the catalyst for a range of AI and ML technologies that can offer exciting career paths for youth.
KRIs harvest is dominated by wheat, barley, potatoes and tomatoes. Land for wheat cultivation has increased by 80% since 2012 harvesting over 1 million tonnes. Globally, the conflict in Ukraine is generating series shortages and opportunities for alternative suppliers. This opens up a strong opportunity for by-products. Wheat derived starch is essential for the packaging industry and the rise in on-line retail and home delivery, packaging is a huge growth area.
Favourable climate and soil fertility offer ideal conditions for another versatile crop in high global demand - potatoes. Due to a lack of investment in KRI agri-business, production and productivity are stagnating and the potential for this crop – from snack food to starch - is not being realised. Pomegranates are another important crop. Brand Kurdistan can learn from a number of other countries to add value in country. For example, Blue Skies in Ghana are producing cut fruits for supermarket chains across Europe. Their FRESHPPACT initiative is all about packaging – to replace single-use plastic. Another opportunity for Brand Kurdistan.
Agribusiness offers huge potential for KRI diversification. This means mapping the value stream in the country and targeting investment, training and support at each stage. Upstream, there is the soil quality and seed varieties are important and, harvest techniques are improving all the time. Then, downstream, there is storage and transportation before food processing or fresh produce market access. Upstream, we are aiming to be the most cost-effective producer and this means partnerships with countries in the know like the UK, Holland and Denmark on specific produce and technologies. Then, the route to market is all about branding and packaging – a range of design techniques that can be the catalyst for more high-tech jobs.
Another related area are traditional crafts that can be part of significant global markets - hand-made rugs and carpets. In 2021 the top exporters of Hand-Woven rugs were Turkey ($2.71B), India ($889M), China ($577M), Belgium ($433M), and Egypt ($287M). For generations this has been in decline across KRI but remained strong in Turkey and Iran – with strong Kurdish links. These carpets are usually made from natural materials such as wool, cotton, silk, and jute. A wonderful catalyst for the global transition from synthetic to natural fibres. Then, handmade carpets are known for their intricate patterns and vivid colours achieved through intricate weaving and knotting techniques. This is high-end branding and could be a catalyst for a range of design and craft-related start-ups that could build back significant market share – despite the country being landlocked.
Kurdistan is not alone in being a landlocked country and the above focal points could offer useful insights for all. The idea could be framed around a transitional and transformational agenda. That’s WHAT needs to happen ahead of the SDG targets for 2030 and net carbon zero for 2050 as well as how to make this happen. There’s more to this than investment in infrastructure and equipment. We need to use this as a catalyst for entrepreneurship, capabilities and skills.
Globally, there is a need for entrepreneurship as a means to generate more start-ups and employment. Here, we have highlighted several areas for business growth. And yet, we cannot assume that entrepreneurship is fully understood. With landlocked countries and regions in mind, we need to focus on transformational entrepreneurship – start-ups with high social impact meeting local and global challenges and needs rather than a simple focus on profit. For example, it is quite possible to fast fashion clothing that ends up as waste in landfill but this is generating lasting harm. We can harvest pomegranates but need to consider alternatives to single-use plastic trays. Above all, sustainability is not just a cost – it can generate fresh business opportunities.
The KRI can become a Landlocked-Lab not restricted to a single discipline such as Energy or Agri-Business but draw inspiration from multiple disciplines to create learning experiences that have an impact on how best to transition and transform socio-economic outcomes for land-locked countries. From this, viable business models and investible start-ups can flow. This can all be complementary to any Brand Kurdistan initiatives in progress and raises the profile of entrepreneurship that aims to build clear social returns on all investments.
Robert Bell is a specialist in marketing, logistics and value stream or supply chain implementation. He is educated at St Andrews and Oxford University and is a Visiting Fellow at Durham University Business School. He has worked in over 35. Many of the ideas raised in this article are covered in webinars available on YouTube robjbell webinars.
