For Immediate Release
January 23, 2004

Iraq Fact of the Day
Bustling Economic Activity in Iraq

Since liberation, the entrepreneurial spirit of the Iraqi people has been unleashed. An impressive 58 percent of Iraqi small business owners are optimistic about economic growth, and 59 percent are planning to hire new workers in the coming months, according to a recent survey by the Center for International Private Enterprise. The International Finance Corporation is providing $200 million to promote small business growth in Iraq, and the U.S. Agency for International Development has already provided almost $2 million to institutions that have made small scale loans for some 1,000 projects.

Sources: The Center for International Private Enterprise, International Finance Corporation, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.