The Afghan Women's Business Council (AWBC)
Establishment of the Afghan Women's Business Council
Women's economic security is realized in part by the expansion of business and trade opportunities. These opportunities are often created through the establishment of strong local and national organizations that advocate for women's economic security.
In early 2003, UNIFEM worked to mobilize support from the government of Afghanistan, the National Bank, the Italian government and other donors to lay the foundations of institutional support for women entrepreneurs and producers.
The result of was the establishment, in the summer of 2003, of the Afghan Women’s Business Council (AWBC) - a partnership between women entrepreneurs and leading Afghan NGOs in enterprise development.
Structure
The mandate of the AWBC is to advocate on behalf of women entrepreneurs throughout the country, thereby facilitating women’s entry into the private sector.
The AWBC is a registered body with the Ministry of Justice and operates with an elected 7-member governing board and a full-time coordinator.
The AWBC has a constitution as well as a three-year strategy for operations, and 4 members of the AWBC currently sit on the governing board of the Afghan International Chamber of Commerce (AICC).
As of 2007, the AWBC's membership has expanded to include over 80 Afghan businesswomen.
Activities
Since its inception, the AWBC has worked directly with 23 associations, representing 5,000 registered members from Kabul, Parwan, Kapisa, Laghman, Herat, Ghazni and Mazar-e-Sharif provinces. With the support of these partners, the AWBC has also sent a number of its members to attend training sessions with organizations such as the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), the AICC and the International Labor Organization (ILO).
The AWBC has also expanded operations to the provincial Women's Resource Centres (WRCs), facilitating training programmes in business skills development production for local markets. In the city of Kabul and Kapisa and Parwan provinces, more than 900 women have attended these programmes.
UNIFEM