Economic Empowerment

*Note: Unless otherwise noted, all information regarding economic empowerment programming in Afghanistan is from 2019. Recent updates temporarily unavailable for safety and security reasons.

Aseel Foundation , in direct collaboration with the Aseel platform, onboards people from Afghanistan into the digital economy through the Buy Good and Do Good platforms. Tax-deductible Aseel Artisan and Humanitarian fund donations are channeled directly to support artisans and those needing immediate humanitarian help. With our dedicated Atalan team and Omid IDs, we aim to make a lasting, positive impact on the communities we serve, ensuring transparency is a top priority. (Updated 2024)

Turquoise Mountain was established in 2006 by His Majesty King Charles III to revive historic areas and traditional crafts, to provide jobs, skills and a renewed sense of pride. Turquoise Mountain supports thousands of families in Kabul, Bamiyan and the north of the country by creating jobs and supporting families through craft production and the preservation of built heritage. Turquoise Mountain also works in Myanmar and the Middle East, and has restored over 150 historic buildings in the Old City of Kabul, employed and trained over 18,000 artisans and builders, built over 50 small businesses, and supported and generated over $17 million in sales of traditional crafts to international markets. Turquoise Mountain works with thousands of weavers across Afghanistan, ensuring fair-trade standards are implemented, including good working conditions, fair wages, the prohibition of child labor, and environmentally friendly production. After several years of close collaboration, in 2019 Turquoise Mountain combined efforts with founding USAWC member, ARZU Studio Hope in the Bamiyan Valley to accelerate the transformation of lives more broadly across Afghanistan by incorporating Arzu’s weaving centers, sales infrastructure and client network in North America. This merger of two well-established nonprofits supports an expanded network of skilled artisans, particularly women, to pursue decent livelihoods and support their families, while preserving the cultural heritage of Afghanistan. (Updated 2024)

PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® (PTB), has been educating women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan since 2006. Over eight hundred fifty women business owners have graduated, each creating her own business plan while earning accreditation through our education partner, Northwood University. The PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® Network for alumnae is garnering visibility in Afghanistan by working with the Women’s Chamber of Commerce & Industry (AWCCI) via United States, as well as awarding grants annually through the Bibi Khadija gala awards, and paying it forward in their own communities in myriad ways. Graduates have created nearly 9,000 jobs for their fellow countrymen and women to date. (Updated 2024)

Uplift Afghanistan is a charitable fund that vets and supports grassroots organizations that are doing impactful work on the ground in Afghanistan and with Afghan refugees around the world. We are a non-political, women-led, humanitarian-focused organization with knowledge of and sensitivity to the local cultures and customs of the Afghan people. As a team of experts with eyes and ears on the ground, we are able to identify critical areas of need and remain adaptable to evolving crises. We prioritize flexibility, collaborative partnership, and capacity building across 7 key sectors: education, humanitarian relief; refugee resettlement; preserving Afghan knowledge, expertise, and art; equity, diversity, and inclusion; environmental protection and sustainability; and industry, innovation, and infrastructure. We have developed a sound, verifiable approach that includes identifying local partner organizations, tracking their activities, and measuring the impact range of their programs and services. Uplift and its partners employ the full range of monitoring, evaluation, and learning tools to measure program effectiveness, learn iteratively, and adapt approaches over the course of implementation. A co-creation process with each partner organization enables us to address specific communities’ challenges and track the impact of their work on the communities we serve. A key value in our approach is to see aid work as a conversation between equals, with those we serve setting the agenda for the kind of support that best meets local needs in long-term, sustainable ways. (Updated 2024)

Kandahar Treasure  (KT) is a social enterprise run by and for the benefit of women in the Kandahar region of southern Afghanistan, working to revive and sustain the traditional art of khamak embroidery. The enterprise aims to find national and international markets for hand-embroidered pieces, and raise the quality of the women artisans’ work through technical and business trainings. Founded in 2008 by former Afghan Education Minister Rangina Hamidi, KT exists to give life and value to the art of khamak—carrying with it not only history but tradition and the voice of women in Kandahar. Through the sale of beautifully hand-embroidered products, KT supports a holistic approach to sustainable poverty alleviation through artisan-based employment that empowers Afghan women. Since its inception, KT has provided employment opportunities to over 1,000 women who create pieces of art that sustain traditional craft techniques and provide income and dignity for themselves and their families. This social enterprise is helping to rebuild Afghanistan’s economy by contributing to its infrastructure of production and empowering women to lead their families into a more peaceful and prosperous future, despite the circumstances around them. (Updated 2024)

Marshall Plan Charities  is developing, on a 50/50 basis with Afghan villagers, its first sustainable, self-sufficient “model village” in Khairabad with wells, crops, a school, a vocational center, and a health clinic. (Updated 2019)