Women in the Economy Annual Report FY4 (October 2018 – September 2019)

The WIE program focuses on both private sector and workforce development, providing thousands of women with the skills, voice, and resources to contribute to Afghanistan's economic development and poverty reduction goals. The program assists women-owned businesses and businesses that employ at least 30 percent women to perform better, increasing the income growth and sustainability of these businesses. WIE provides technical assistance, industry-specific business skills training, and improved access to finance and markets to leverage growth in the private sector. To help female jobseekers, WIE supports women aged 18 and above in finding new or better jobs through career counseling, workplace skills development, and technical skills training based on market demand. WIE is based in five regional economic zones across Afghanistan, with offices in Kabul, Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar, and Mazar-i-Sharif. The program's projected achievements include increasing the size of supported businesses, improving revenues, and providing women with new or better employment opportunities. Specifically, the program aims to have 20 percent of supported businesses move to the next level of enterprise size, 50 percent or more of supported businesses increase revenues by more than 40 percent within two years, and 17,500 women obtain new or better employment. The WIE program also supports apprenticeships and internships, as well as job placement services that give women the opportunity to gain work experience, prove their capabilities to employers, and secure new or better employment. Furthermore, the program aims to develop three gender-sensitive policies, regulations, or reforms to promote women's economic empowerment in Afghanistan. Implementation of the WIE program began on July 1, 2015, and is scheduled to end on June 30, 2020. The program is implemented by Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI) and its sub-contractors, Thunderbird and TOR International. The program's activities are focused on five key components: private sector development, workforce development, technical services, regional updates, and collaboration with government agencies and other USAID projects. The WIE program has made significant progress in its first four years, with notable achievements in private sector development, workforce development, and technical services. The program has also established partnerships with local educational and technical training providers to deliver services, and has funded scholarships for training and certification programs. However, the program has also faced challenges and lessons learned, including constraints and critical issues related to personnel, adaptation, and risk management. Overall, the WIE program is a critical component of the Promote initiative, aimed at promoting women's economic empowerment in Afghanistan. The program's focus on private sector development, workforce development, and technical services has the potential to make a significant impact on women's economic empowerment and poverty reduction in Afghanistan.