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.