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 |  IFC Trains Women Entrepreneurs in Afghanistan
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In Washington
Corrie Shanahan
Phone: +1 202 473 2258
Email: Cshanahan@ifc.org
In Kabul
Abdul Raouf Zia
Phone: (0093) 070280800
E-mail: azia@worldbank.org |
Kabul, Afghanistan, July 29, 2005 — The International Finance Corporation, the
private sector arm of the World Bank Group, recently organized a two-day
workshop on “How to Market your Business” for 40 women entrepreneurs in Kabul.
The event, which was held July 26-27, is part of a larger IFC regional program
to strengthen women-owned small and medium enterprises.
The workshop was designed for women who have some experience in formal small
and medium-sizedbusinesses and who seek innovative, nontraditional and
growth-oriented approaches to their enterprises. It was delivered using IFC’s
Business Edge management training methodology and expertise. The training
series aims to increase productivity, profitability, and growth in small
businesses by improving their financial, operational, and marketing management.
It also focuses on the soft skills needed for effective human resource
management and sound leadership. In particular, the Kabul workshop focused on
the introduction to marketing concepts, the targeting of markets, and pricing.
IFC workshops intend to provide women with the skills and the support they need
to emerge and to compete in the mainstream business world. Despite the
challenges arising from the post-conflict environment of Afghanistan, IFC
believes that unleashing the potential of entrepreneurship is crucial to
enabling women to transform their socioeconomic status, bolster private sector
development, and ultimately contribute to the country’s reconstruction and
economic advancement. “Afghanistan needs all its citizens, male and female, to
participate in the economic growth of the country. Workshops like these that
equip women with business skills are contribute to this". These were Mr. Hamid
Qaderi’s (CEO of Afghanistan International Chamber of Commerce (AICC)) remarks
at the end of the workshop when thanked for hosting it.
IFC’s technical assistance facility, the Private Enterprise Partnership for the
Middle East and North Africa, has been drawing from its regional experience and
country mapping surveys to identify market barriers facing women, including
access to markets, finance, business resources, and associations. IFC research
shows that market failures discriminate more against women than men and that
some of these imbalances can be addressed by technical assistance interventions
targeted at growth-oriented enterprises.
The IFC (www.ifc.org) is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. The
IFC’s mission is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing
countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances
private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the
international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental
sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and
businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY04, IFC has committed more than
$44 billion of its own funds and arranged $23 billion in syndications for 3,143
companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as
of FY04 was $17.9 billion for its own account and $5.5 billion held for
participants in loan syndications. |
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