THE BAYAT FOUNDATION AND BRIGHT FUTURE AFGHANISTAN LAUNCH ENTERPRISE ACADEMY TO TRAIN AFGHAN YOUTH AND PROVIDE AFGHAN SME’S WITH BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

Kabul, Afghanistan—March 13, 2019—The Bayat Foundation (www.bayatfoundation.org), Afghanistan’s largest, private Health, Education and Social Development Organization, in partnership with Bright Future Afghanistan, today announced the opening of the Cordaid Enterprise Academy. The Academy, a one-of-a-kind center for skills training and entrepreneurship, will provide Business Development, Networking and Training opportunities to young Afghan entrepreneurs.

Located in Kabul, the Cordaid Enterprise Academy began operations on February 18, 2019. The Academy’s debut—and the importance of its mission—was celebrated with an opening-day dedication ceremony. Attendees at the dedication ceremony included Cordaid representatives Jaap van Hierden and Mohammad Anwar Alvi, Mr. Sebghatullah Poya of The Bayat Foundation, Mr. Musharaf Shirzad of the Hamika Baramaki Organization for the Rule of Law and Mr. Maitullah Rahmati of the 1% Club.

Following the welcoming ceremony, the Cordaid Enterprise Academy sponsored its first program, a networking event introducing young Afghan entrepreneurs to share potential strategic networks and opportunities.

“The Cordaid Enterprise Academy will play a vital role in our mission to support the establishment of Afghan owned small and medium sized companies—the types of businesses that are absolutely essential to Afghanistan’s economic progress,” said Dr. Ehsanollah Bayat, the Co-Founder and Chairman of The Bayat Foundation. “We are proud to be a founding member of Bright Future Afghanistan.”

Bright Future Afghanistan, funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is being implemented by 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.