Malalai Zurmati
February 9th, 2010
NAME: Malalai Zurmati
COUNTRY: Afghanistan
BUSINESS: MALAL Trading Company Limited (fruit processing & trading)
Malalai, 22 years old, co-owns MALAL Trading Company (MTC), which specializes in fruit processing and trading.
The company purchases, processes and trades dried fruits and has more than 100 warehouses and the support of 1,000 Afghan families. The company markets export products, such as agriculture produce, dried fruit and mining products worldwide. Other distribution products include chemical products, construction materials, machinery and equipment.
For now, MTC purchases and sells fruit locally, but the company would like to break into the international market in the future.
In order to run this large-scale operation, MTC has 89 skilled employees and more than 1,000 daily wagers and about 345 raw material suppliers. Malalai has 15 employees in her office.
“We strongly believe that every successful outcome of an entity is proportionate to professionalism, expertise and dedication of people involved in that project and we can ensure such people.”
The company also provides self-help training and seminars to create awareness to 1,000 registered Afghan women, to help enhance their production capacity and create job opportunities.
MTC’s main focus is to directly supply dried fruit and nuts buyers from the world’s major markets through B2B & B2C models. To do so effectively, the company has grouped into consortia of producers.
Over the next five years, Malalai hopes to help re-integrate MTC into the global dried fruit and nut market, after decades or war and economic isolation.
By participating in PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS, Malalai wants to learn more about business ethics, management, marketing, human resources, staff development and advocacy.
