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Since the fall
of the Taliban regime in December 2001, significant work has
been done to economically empower Afghan women. This effort
began as part of the Ministry of Commerce support for women
in business and the Center for International Private
Enterprise (CIPE) became involved in with it in late 2004.
With CIPE’s assistance, the Ministry’s Women’s Enterprise
Development initiative coordinated the training of over 200
women in basic and advanced entrepreneurship skills, which
facilitated the expansion and creation of dozens of
businesses. In addition, WED initiated women’s trade
exhibitions, trade missions, and matchmaking programs that
created both jobs and economic opportunities for women
entrepreneurs. At the same time a number of women’s business
association such as the Afghanistan Women’s Business Council
(AWBC) coordinated training programs for their members, as
well as sponsored exhibitions and other events in support of
women’s entrepreneurship.
Even with
these efforts, synergy was needed to ensure the success of
women’s enterprise development, which is why the Afghanistan
Women’s Business Association (AWBA) and the Afghanistan
Women’s Business Council (AWBC) collaborated with CIPE in
2005 to form the Afghanistan Women’s Business Federation
(AWBF). The United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) decided to provide three years worth of
operational funding for the project. As the USAID
implementing partner, CIPE is building the AWBF’s capacity
as well as that of its partner organizations. The AWBF
provides programs and services for its member associations
as well as directly to thousands of Afghan women throughout
the country. In addition, the AWBF uses a synergetic
approach to women’s business development by collaborating
with other USAID implementers and NGOs to reduce duplication
of services and ensure that demand-driven programs are
delivered in an effective and professional way. CIPE works
with both the Federation and its members to increase the
capacity of women’s associations, as well as to coordinate
the delivery of programs and services directly to women
entrepreneurs. By the end of the project, the AWBF will be a
sustainable force in support of women’s business
initiatives, providing technical assistance and coordinated
programming throughout the country.
The Women’s Enterprise Development Project focuses on
putting in place the building blocks for development of a
synergetic effort to promote women’s business initiatives.
It includes not only AWBF’s creation, but also focuses on
technical assistance for both women’s associations and
businesswomen as a whole, public policy advocacy initiatives
in support of women’s issues, and promotion of products made
by Afghanistan’s women’s entrepreneurs. The project is
designed to increase both the revenue potential and the
skills base of Afghan women, while at the same time
empowering them to embrace leadership in their communities
and their nation. It builds on initiatives such as CIPE’s
Women’s Entrepreneurship Program and the Thunderbird
University’s Artemis Program, both of which were designed to
provide skills based training and leadership support to
empower Afghan women. Creation of the AWBF provides the best
opportunity for synergy between USAID’s existing
gender-based programs, while at the same time meeting the
demand of the private sector.
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Objectives
Given the complexities of the internal situation in
Afghanistan and the critical importance of building its
business infrastructure, the objectives of the project are:
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To create
and build the capacity of the Afghanistan Women’s
Business Federation, a consortium of women’s business
associations, designed to enhance private sector
development. |
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To expand
AWBF into the provinces where it will provide direct
services and support to businesswomen and entrepreneurs. |
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To improve
the professionalism and sustainability of national,
provincial and local women’s business association to
provide a sound foundation for policy dialogue,
investment promotion, and economic development. |
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To improve
public access to economic information affecting policy
debate through the creation and translation of
publications and improved media coverage of women’s
business association initiatives and economic policy
issues. |
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To create
direct economic opportunities for women in order to
alleviate poverty and create jobs. |
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Activities
During the project
term, CIPE will undertake a comprehensive and multi-faceted
program, largely through the Afghanistan Women’s Business
Federation (AWBF), to promote the ability of women to
participate in the policy debate and to take an active role
in strengthening the private sector. Activities in support
of this program include:
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The
establishment of a project advisory board.
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Identification of key partners and the assessment of
current capacity of women’s business associations.
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Creation of
the Afghanistan Women’s Business Federation (AWBF)
Training Center to provide technical assistance
opportunities to both women’s business associations and
women entrepreneurs.
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Coordination
with other USAID and donor gender-based initiatives.
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The awarding
of small grants to assist women’s business associations
in acquiring technology as well as initiating
demand-driven programs and services.
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Creation of
the Afghanistan Women’s Trade Development Center to
initiate programs in support of showcasing women’s
products and services within Afghanistan and around the
world.
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