Program Connects Young Afghan Business Owners With Investors and Information That Are Critical To Building Successful Companies And A Thriving Afghan Private Sector

Kabul, Afghanistan—December 20, 2018—The Bayat Foundation (www.bayatfoundation.org), Afghanistan’s largest, private Health, Education and Social Development Organization, demonstrated its commitment to developing the Afghan private sector, by announcing the successful completion of The Bright Future Business Accelerator Event, Afghanistan’s first-ever Networking and Business Development Program for Young Afghan Entrepreneurs.

Bright Future Business Accelerator brings together young Afghan business owners, potential investors, Afghan government representatives and Afghanistan based non-governmental organizations, so that together, these parties can achieve a vital mission: developing an Afghan national economy which supports the formation of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME’s)—the types of companies Afghanistan needs to create millions of jobs and help accelerate Afghanistan’s economic development.

Held in Kabul on December 13, 2018, The Bright Future Business Accelerator event was attended by twenty Afghan-owned Small and Medium Sized Companies. Also attending the Business Acceleration Program were executives from microfinance institutions, Afghan government officials and leaders of Afghanistan-based Non-Governmental Organizations, including:

• The Bayat Foundation
• OXUS
• Cordaid
• The Afghan Ministry of Industries and Commerce
• FINCA Microfinance
• The First Microfinance Bank

The Bright Future Business Acceleration Program began with a reading from the Holy Quran and speeches of welcome from Mr. Ehsanullah Arianzai of the Bayat Foundation and Cordaid Representative Jaap Van Hierden.

Following the welcoming ceremony, Afghan entrepreneurs participated in networking sessions with representatives of Microfinance institutions, potential investors and Afghan officials. During the networking session, each Afghan business owner or representative discussed the mission of their Company, and they received information about financing programs as well as Afghan government licensing procedures.

Bright Future Afghanistan, is a consortium of four Afghan  non-profit organizations: The Bayat Foundation, Cordaid (www.cordaid.org), the 1% Club (www.onepercentclub.com), and the Hamika Baramaki Organization for the Rule of Law (www.hborl.org.af). Bright Future is a five-year program designed to teach important business skills to Afghan entrepreneurs and to create a thriving Afghan private sector of small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s), capable of providing thousands of employment opportunities to Afghans—especially Afghan youth.

“Encouraging the founding and expansion of Afghan-owned Small and Medium Sized companies is the only way we can create millions of jobs for Afghans, and lay the foundation for a future of stable economic growth,” said Dr. Ehsanollah Bayat, the Co-Founder and Chairman of The Bayat Foundation.

“Our Business Acceleration and Networking Event was a critical first step to provide young Afghan entrepreneurs with the connections to potential investments and information they needed, not just to start new companies—but make certain that the companies they build can be successful for years to come.”