The Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women.

NAME: Nadia

COUNTRY: Afghanistan

BUSINESS: Sana Handicraft & Knitting Co. (handicrafts)

Nadia, 40 years old, owns Sana Handicraft & Knitting Company, in addition to her role as director of business for the women’s association at the Women’s Garden in Afghanistan.

With a background in design, after returning to Afghanistan, Nadia helped women earn a living by taking their finished handicraft products to shops around Kabul to sell them. Eventually she saved enough money to open her own shop in the Women’s Gardne.

Nadia’s business and 20 employees create unique handcrafts, such as table clothes, placemats, photo frames, kitchen utensil holders, pillow cases, chair covers, aprons, envelope organizers, dresses.

In the future, Nadia wants to start a school uniform company.

By attending PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS, Nadia wants to learn new ways of trading, new markets and how to take her company to an international level.

NAME: Anisa Rostaqi

COUNTRY: Afghanistan

BUSINESS: UNK (handicrafits)

Anisa, 29 years old, owns UNK, a handicraft shop. The organization was informally started by Anisa’s mother, who wanted to help the women in her neighborhood. The women were creating beautiful hand-sewn works, and eventually her mother started providing the women with raw materials.

Anisa increased the number of staff, and then found a lady who would sell the finished products. She now trains the women how to buy and sell their products. Most of the women are widows who stay at home.

Anisa hopes to start a literacy class for these women in the future.

NAME: Taiba Ghafoori

COUNTRY: Afghanistan

BUSINESS: QAFILA (handicrafts)

Taiba, 23 years old, runs QAFILA, a handicraft business that specializes in clothes, scarves, curtains, cushions, sheets, purses and more.

Taiba is a member of the Afghanistan Women Business Federation, and in addition to running her business for the past six years, she currently works for the Ministry of Finance in Afghanistan.

Taiba and her business partners decided to start QAFILA after they had seen so many women who were unable to turn their talent to a profit, because they were either financially unable to purchase the raw materials or their families would not allow them to have any contact with people at the market.

QAFILA provides women with the raw materials for handicraft production and also takes the products to the marketplace, paying the women their deserved wages.

Taiba hopes to make her business her one and only full-time job by increasing its profitability and finding more markets for her business’ products. It is for these exact reasons she applied for PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS: to learn how to generate more revenue and increase her marketing. She also wants to develop her business management skills.

Taiba considers her strengths to be showing initiative, responsibility and dedication. Though she is still working to develop QAFILA, Taiba’s entrepreneurial spirit has her already thinkig of her next enterprising – either producing sugar or stating a kindergarten.