In collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) and chancellors from 11 Afghan public universities, USAID held a one-day University Chancellors’ Forum today under the USAID-funded University Support and Workforce Program (USWDP). The forum focused on the role of Afghan universities and institutions of higher learning as centers of knowledge and academic excellence, as well as safe spaces that help shape the future of Afghanistan.
U.S. Ambassador John R. Bass today launched the second annual “Passage to Prosperity: India-Afghanistan Trade and Investment Show,” scheduled to take place in Mumbai September 12-15, 2018. Organized by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), today’s launch was aimed at stimulating interest in and sharing information about the September event. More than 200 Afghan government officials and business representatives, international donors, NGO partners, members of the diplomatic corps, and foreign mission commercial attachés attended the event.
U.S. Ambassador John R. Bass and H.E. Dr. Abdullah Abdullah today acknowledged the achievements of more than 1,500 women activists and 190 civil society organizations working to empower women across Afghanistan, honoring two years of accomplishments by beneficiaries of the USAID-funded Promote Musharikat program. Promote is a partnership between the government of Afghanistan and USAID to secure the gains in women’s empowerment realized over the last decade.
Afghanistan’s first private business incubator, Startup Valley, has graduated its second group of 22 female entrepreneurs. The new graduates are now set to take their business concepts to market. For five months, the course, administered by AGHAEZ Professional Services and supported by USAID: Promote Women in the Economy (WIE), trained, mentored, and provided networking and learning opportunities for the young entrepreneurs. They interacted with other Startup Valley beneficiaries who have already navigated the startup and launch processes.
In an effort to strengthen coordination between the Afghan government, civil society, and media, the USAID-funded Afghanistan Civic Engagement Program (ACEP) organized a two-day “Framework for Cooperation Conference” in Kabul on May 7-8, 2018. More than 230 representatives from Afghan civil society organizations (CSOs), media agencies, and representatives from the Afghan government attended.
A national summit of Afghan businesswomen has been launched in Kabul with support from USAID’s Promote: Women in the Economy (WIE) project, in close cooperation of the Office of the Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The summit brought together more than 150 women-owned or managed Afghan businesses, government officials, interest groups, and industry leaders from throughout the country to examine challenges facing businesswomen. Convened at the Kabul Star Hotel, the summit provided a forum to identify areas of reform that will assist women-owned businesses in access to finance, markets, and increased revenues. The summit encouraged participants to share individual examples of issues they face, and work together to create practical and constructive plans that will help them grow.
At least 400 Afghan women graduated today from an internship program aimed at providing Afghanistan with a pool of educated women ready to join the government workforce. The women were participants in USAID’s Promote: Women in Government (WIG) project. WIG supports the Government of Afghanistan’s goal of increasing women’s participation in government to 30 percent by 2020, a 7.5 percent increase from the 2017 level per Afghanistan’s Central Statistics Office.
In the early hours of March 26, an attack in Baghlan Province damaged two power transmission towers that supply imported electricity from Uzbekistan to Kabul and four other provinces. The attack briefly shut off over 300 MW of electricity—the bulk of the city’s power needs. The Government of Afghanistan responded quickly, using USAID-funded resources and training to reduce the impact of the disruption to residents and businesses in Kabul.
Today, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it has donated $25 million to the United Nations World Food Programme’s (WFP’s) Afghanistan Protractive Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) to provide cash-based and food assistance to nearly 1.7 million Afghans—mostly women and children—affected by conflict, natural disasters, and seasonal hunger.
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Last updated: August 14, 2018
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