The Kabul Tribune (KT) — The United Nations Development Programme and UN Women have launched a new initiative to expand access to financing and business support for Afghan women entrepreneurs, aiming initially to assist about 1,500 women over the next year.
The Afghanistan Women’s Fund for Resilient Enterprises, or
AWFRE, will provide Shariah-compliant, collateral-free financing alongside
business development services, including financial and digital literacy
training, mentoring, business planning and assistance in accessing markets, the
UNDP said.
An initial joint investment of $1.7 million is expected to
support about 1,500 women entrepreneurs and indirectly benefit more than 14,000
people through stronger businesses, increased household incomes and broader
economic activity.
The initiative comes amid a significant financing gap for
Afghan women entrepreneurs. The UNDP said fewer than 7% of women in Afghanistan
have a bank account or use mobile money services, leaving many women-owned
businesses dependent on personal savings, loans from relatives and friends or
the sale of personal assets.
At the same time, more Afghan women are turning to
entrepreneurship to generate income and support their families. More than
10,000 Afghan women now hold business licenses, about 10 times the number five
years ago, while the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce estimates that another
120,000 women are operating businesses without licenses, according to the UNDP.
“Afghan women entrepreneurs” face limited access to
financing, skills and business networks needed to expand their enterprises,
said Turhan Saleh, the UNDP resident representative in Afghanistan.
UN Women Special Representative Susan Ferguson said
expanding women's access to financing was critical for women-led businesses to
grow and contribute to greater economic security.
UNDP and UN Women are seeking an additional $10 million to
expand the initiative. The additional funding would allow another 10,000 women
entrepreneurs to receive financing and business support and indirectly benefit
an estimated 70,000 people.
The initiative aims to help women-owned businesses move
beyond subsistence and small-scale operations, invest in their enterprises,
reach new markets and establish more sustainable sources of income, the UNDP
said.
