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World Bank allocates $16 million to support women-led businesses in Afghanistan
The World Bank has declared that it has allocated $16 million to support small businesses in Afghanistan, focusing on women-owned enterprises and businesses led by them.
The World Bank stated Wednesday through a press release that this assistance will be directly disbursed to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) via the Aga Khan Foundation in the USA.
Melinda Good, World Bank country director for Afghanistan, emphasized that “supporting small financial providers in Afghanistan is one of the few actionable options currently available to enhance access to financial resources in Afghanistan, especially for women.”
She said, “This project aims to strengthen the small financial sector in Afghanistan so that owners of small businesses and women-led enterprises can access the necessary financial credit to rebuild their businesses, rebuild their lives, and contribute to the revival of the private sector.”
The World Bank stated that the Afghanistan Credit Guarantee Foundation was established in 2004 and added that the bank is striving to increase access to financial resources in Afghanistan for small and medium-sized enterprises by providing credit guarantees and technical assistance.
This comes as support for women in the private sector, especially in investment and trade, has increased from international organizations.
The World Bank report stated that this project will be concentrated in 15 provinces of Afghanistan, including Badakhshan, Balkh, Bamyan, Daikundi, Faryab, Herat, Jawzjan, Kabul, Kunduz, Nangarhar, Parwan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, and Takhar.
It is worth mentioning that this project in Afghanistan will be implemented through the Aga Khan Foundation and the Afghanistan Credit Guarantee Foundation.
The World Bank has stated that the goal of aligning this project is to support “enhancing the financial resilience and growth of small providers and companies.”
Additionally, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has announced the alignment of several projects to create job opportunities for women and emphasized that aligning projects strengthens the economy of Afghanistan and enables women entrepreneurs to manage their businesses.
Three foreign nationals and one Afghan were killed when gunmen opened fire in Afghanistan’s central Bamyan province on Friday, the Interior Ministry said.
Abdulmatin Qane, the spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, said that three Afghans and four foreigners were injured in the shooting.
He added that four people were arrested in connection with the incident.
Qani did not specify which country the foreigners belonged to.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
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China and Pakistan call for inclusive ‘political framework’ and ‘moderate policies’ in Afghanistan
According to the statement, Wang and Dar called for concerted efforts from the international community to help Afghanistan address challenges in areas such as the humanitarian situation and economic development.
“The two sides agreed to strengthen communication and coordination on the Afghanistan issue,” the statement read.
“They called for concerted efforts of the international community to help Afghanistan properly address challenges in such areas as the humanitarian situation and economic development, and encourage Afghanistan to build an inclusive political framework, adopt moderate policies, pursue good-neighborliness, and firmly combat terrorism, including not allowing its territory to be used for terrorist acts.
“Both sides agreed to play a positive and constructive role in helping Afghanistan achieve stable development and integrate into the international community,” the statement read.
Negotiations are ongoing between Afghanistan and Iran to sideline the US dollar in bilateral transactions, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said this week.
According to media reports, Mohsen Karimi, the head of the CBI, said talks are ongoing between the two countries for the implementation of “offshore rial” in Afghanistan.
Karimi said the “offshore rial” is used with the aim of supporting the economic activity and exporters of the private sector of the country.
Recently, CBI Governor Mohammad Reza Farzin announced that Tehran plans to use the “offshore rial” for trade with Russia, Afghanistan and Iraq. He also said at the time that the idea of ditching the US dollar has produced positive results.
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