Women in the Economy Monthly Report February 2020

The project aims to provide thousands of women with the skills, voice, and resources to contribute to Afghanistan's economic development and poverty reduction goals. Women in the Economy assists women-owned businesses and businesses that hire women to perform better, increasing the income growth and sustainability of these businesses. The project 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, Women in the Economy supports women aged 18 and over in finding new or better jobs through career counseling, workplace skills development, and technical skills training based on market demand. The project operates across Afghanistan and serves both major urban hubs and more remote areas. Women in the Economy's projected achievements include assisting 400 women's businesses, with at least half increasing revenues by more than 40 percent. The project also aims to have 20 percent of assisted businesses move to the next level of enterprise size, and to provide 17,500 women with new or better employment, including self-employment. Additionally, the project aims to provide 12,600 women with a 10 percent or greater improvement in wages or income, and to have 9,500 women participate in activity-supported apprenticeships or internships. The National Teacher Preparedness Training (NTPT) program is one of the key components of Women in the Economy. The program aims to improve the quality of education in Afghanistan by providing training to teachers. Women in the Economy reviewed and approved all the rough cuts of the 10-episode Roya Season 2, and the sub-contractor is working to finalize the episodes and design marketing materials to promote the show prior to broadcast. In February 2020, Women in the Economy continued to assist 490 women-owned businesses or businesses that fit the WIE criteria. The Private Sector Development (PSD) component of the project is designed to grow revenue for businesses in a defined target market that includes women-owned businesses or businesses with at least 30 percent of female employees. The PSD activities are focused on professionalizing business management, increasing access to finance, and entrepreneurship development. The MBA Corps activity is one of the key components of the PSD component. The activity demonstrates the value of professionally trained managers to small business owners, some of whom retain traditional family-run business practices and are reluctant to bring in professionals perceived to be 'outsiders'. A professional mentor oversees the activity, provides advice to the embedded MBA, and ensures that the business owner understands how to implement new administrative and management practices. During the reporting period, the MBA Corps activity in Kabul, Herat, and Mazar-i-Sharif continued smoothly, with MBA advisors implementing business action plans for their respective businesses. Women in the Economy conducted a midterm review and the initial results for each batch are as follows: in Kabul, the average revenue increased by 100 percent, 32 new job opportunities were created, 24 new products/services were launched, 5 new branches/outlets were opened, and 10 new suppliers were identified. In Herat, the average revenue increased by 85 percent, 6 new job opportunities were created, 4 new products/services were launched, 2 new branches/outlets were opened, and 5 new suppliers were identified.