Newsletter Issue #6

ISSUE 6|MARCH-APRIL, 2015
AREDP
Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and
Development
NEWSLETTER
AFGHANISTAN RURAL ENTERPRISE
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
BI Monthly NEWSLETTER
IN THE EDITION:
Training on Islamic
Financing for Village
Savings and Loan
Associations.
National Exhibition
for Rural
Entrepreneurs in
Kabul, Afghanistan
Business to Business
Forum for Rural
Small and Medium
Enterprises
Toolkits distribution
for koochies
Training of Islamic Financing for VSLAs
On March 2015, Afghanistan Rural Enterprise +
Development Program held Islamic Micro-­‐Finance training for 95 members of 14 newly created Village ACCESS TO
FINANCE
‘The Islamic
Financing gives us
guidance how to
manage and
distribute loan to
members’
- a participant
from the training
Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs), Provincial Enterprise Facilitators (PEFs) and provincial management team in Balkh province. The purpose of the training is to introduce the Islamic mode of Financing within the newly established AREDP has carried out 68 similar trainings across VSLAs so that they can provide access to finance the program area and so far trained 1,374 within the compliance of Islamic Law principals of beneficiaries on Islamic financing. In total 2,096 Murabeha, Istisna, Qarzul Hassan. training were carried out, covering 54,456 The training was four 14 days and it covered standards and Murabeha, Istisna, Qarzul Hassan. It also focused on how to make financial agreements, develop purchase order, contracts, and process loan application. community members in the targeted provinces. 2
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ISSUE 6|MARCH-APRIL,
Issue |2015
Date
Lorem Ipsum
Such an exhibition
helps bring rural
community product
at the national level
and create linkages
between urban and
rural areas.
Exhibition for rural Small and Medium Enterprises in Kabul
AREDP is exploring opportunity in various The exhibition was inaugurated by His Excellency Another entrepreneur at the exhibition was national and international platforms to Nasir Ahmad Durrani, the Minister of Ministry of Mr. Faiz Ahmad who came all the way from showcase by Rural Rehabilitation and Development. His Herat and sold all of his products Mr. entrepreneurs from remote rural area. This Excellency had tour in the exhibition areas and Ahmad said: “I have Food and Pickles has been done with the objective of creating interacted with SME from rural areas of Balkh, linkages for the enterprise at the national Parwan, level and exposing rural product in the urban provinces. the product produced areas. Nangarhar, Bamyan and Herat Production Enterprise in Herat and I have never been in any exhibition before. Thanks to AREDP, I sold all my In this exhibition, SMEs showcased different products”. On March 2015, AREDP facilitated exhibition types of products such as handcrafted textiles, for 31 Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) jewelries, accessories, carpets, clothes, and other in Bagher Babor garden. handmade products. Heart products at the national level. Since its inception in 2010, AREDP has been able to organize 57 national and international Ms. Fatima Ahmadi one of the entrepreneurs exhibitions for hundreds of SMEs from Balkh, from Bamyan province participating in this Herat, Kandahar, Nangarhar, Parwan and exhibition said: “Such exhibitions helps us show Bamyan provinces. authentic product in the market and during the this exhibition I was able to sell plenty of local made items. In additions, I got order from new client”. Dolor Sit Amet
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ISSUE 6|MARCH-APRIL,
2015
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Lorem Ipsum
Business to Business Forum
+
For Small and Medium Enterprises
On the third day of the exhibition, AREDP facilitated Naeem Handicrafts in Parwan province for Business-­‐to-­‐Business forum for the 31 SMEs exploring opportunities and selling products in attended the exhibition. In this forum, SMEs of Parwan province”. different sectors deliver presentations regarding “During this
exhibition I had
received a contract to
produce 280,000
blankets for Nooristan
province’.
their products and shared of the income they made during the three days. Mr. Sidiqullah the owner of Arsala Textile Enterprise and one of the participants of this exhibition said: “During this exhibition I had This event helped these SMEs to discuss feedback received a contract to produce 280,000 blankets from client and share views and experiences with for Nooristan province’. each other. Ms. Rezai the owner of Gowharshad Handicrafts in Bamyan said in the forum that this exhibition many clients from the clothing stores visited my booth and eventually I received a contract to produce women’s clothing. Now Ms. Rezai will be working with clothing stores in With my existent resources I was unable to produce blankets on time therefore, I successfully contracted with Ms. Sadiqa the owner of Tamasoki Silk Production Enterprise of Herat province in this exhibition to produce 100,000 blankets”. Lesa-­‐e Maryam Maryam in Khair Khana area. In additions, she also was contracted with Hashem Dolor Sit Amet
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ISSUE 6|MARCH-APRIL, 2015
Toolkits Distribution for Koochies
Koochies are marginalized ethnic groups in Afghanistan that been affected not only by the civil war and insecurity but also by harsh climate conditions of the country. Due to their lifestyle, Koochies have been wandering through the country in search of suitable landscapes with seasonal compatibilities. For centuries, they have lived by selling or bartering livestock products such as wool, meat and dairy products. AREDP realized Koochi entrepreneurial potential and in 2013 initiated Koochi project in selected provinces of Afghanistan. Prior to introducing the project, AREDP carried out a study to understand the culture of Koochies and in particular their entrepreneurship potential. The study indicated that there is a high potential for enterprise development however, there are a number of factors that hinder these potential and these includes lack of basic education, lack of access to basic technology and no linkages to a wider or urban market. Consequently, AREDP selected 98 Koochies to implement the project and out of the total 55 are female beneficiaries. The Koochies received a comprehensive support package that includes training, exposure visits and handholding through regular visit by Provincial Enterprise Facilitators and Roving Facilitators. After receiving the package of support the majority of Koochies independently started to manage small-­‐scale business and were generating steady income. In April, AREDP handed over toolkits for dairy product processing to Koochies of Parwan province. The toolkits included solar panel, refrigerator and three-­‐ wheel motorcycle that can help Koochies store and easily transport product to the urban market. The equipment were given to 24 Koochies; 12 women and 12 men. The distribution was held in a ceremony that was attended by government officials, representative of Koochi community as well as AREDP senior management. Contacts us through:
E-mail: communications-­‐aredp@mrrd.gov.af Website: www.aredp-­‐mrrd.gov.af Facebook: www.facebook.com/aredpofficial Twitter: www.twitter.com/officialaredp Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/officialaredp Together towards competitive Afghanistan