OVERVIEW

Promote is a partnership between the Government of Afghanistan and the United States Agency for International Development to secure the gains made by Afghan women in the past decade while providing a new generation of Afghan women with the leadership skills to make vital contributions to Afghanistan’s development in governance, civil society, and the economy. As the economic and business component of Promote, the Women in the Economy (WIE) activity is key to achieving the objectives of Afghanistan’s Transformation Decade by empowering educated Afghan women from across the country to gain the skills, voices, and resources to contribute to economic growth, to reduce poverty levels, and to influence workplace policies in response to the needs of women in the economy.

WIE works in five regional economic zones across Afghanistan, with offices in Kabul, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Jalalabad, and Kandahar; it will expand its activities into new areas in the future.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

• Improving the growth of women-owned businesses and businesses with a 10 percent or greater female workforce.
• Providing training and targeted technical assistance to address business needs; making referrals to business service providers; and helping women business owners and managers to foster the growth of skilled women employees.
• Partnering with local educational, vocational, and technical training providers to offer workplace skills development, career counseling, internships, apprenticeships, and job placement to educated women between the ages of 18 and 30 so they can gain work experience and secure new or better positions.
• Encouraging private companies to improve the workplace environment for women and to expand female staffing.
• Collaborating with other donors and programs to increase women’s access to finance and to improve the overall enabling environment.

EXPECTED RESULTS

• 20 percent of Promote-supported businesses will move to the next level of enterprise size (for example to advance from small- to medium- size business).
• 50 percent (or more) of all Promote-supported businesses will increase revenues by more than 40 percent within two years after assistance.
• 21,000 women will receive new or better employment (including self-employment).
• 12,600 women will receive a 10 percent or greater improvement in wages or income.
• 9,500 women participate in activity-supported apprenticeships or internships.
• 3 gender-sensitive policies, regulations, or reforms will be developed to assist women in the economy.