the detailed and challenges

1. In AFGHANISTAN
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
By: KARIM SHAKER
2334350019

2. What is Entrepreneurship
At its most basic level, entrepreneurship refers to an individual or a small group
of partners who strike out on an original path to create a new business. An
aspiring entrepreneur actively seeks a particular business venture and it is the
entrepreneur who assumes the greatest amount of risk associated with the
project. As such, this person also stands to benefit most if the project is a
success
Entrepreneurship and innovation will commonly focus on new ideas in three
categories:
• Innovative ideas
• Business model
• Innovative solutions

3. Characteristics of an entrepreneur
The entrepreneurial mindset combines several different skills that require
careful development for the successful achievement of a business idea. For
example, an entrepreneur must be able to balance an understanding of how
business works — including from a financial and operational perspective —
with a drive for innovation. Entrepreneurship means understanding when you
have an opening in the marketplace that no other provider is meeting and
having the business sense to know how to go after this new opportunity at the
right time.
• Curious
• Flexible and adaptable
• Persistent
• Passionate
• Willing to learn
• A visionary
• Motivated

4. Introduction - Afghanistan
Afghanistan is one of the countries with the richest civilizations in the world.
However, Afghanistan cannot develop and get a place in the world economy
and business world due to a number of political risks. Many countries around
the world are looking for different ways and making efforts to strengthen their
economies. One of the most important activities that will contribute to the
growth and development of Afghanistan is to give importance to
entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial incentives that will increase the share of
the private sector in the economy like other countries in the world. There are
social, economic, political, cultural and security problems ahead of
entrepreneurship for domestic and foreign investors in Afghanistan. Measures
to be taken to solve these problems and contribute to the development of the
country will elevate the place of Afghanistan in the international indices.

5. Entrepreneurship in Afghanistan
Entrepreneurship in Afghanistan remained tenacious despite the decades of
conflicts. the country’s miserable era was started since the Soviet Invasion in 1979
which lasted for 9 years till 1989, the thereafter civil war among different Afghan
parties, followed by the Taliban tenure and the US war, which was started in 2001,
as a result, all the institutions were obliterated including the financial system and
economic sectors of Afghanistan.
For this purpose, the place of Afghanistan in international indices was examined
and the recommendations about the development of entrepreneurship in
Afghanistan were tried to be presented considering the relations between the
indices. In the study, simple linear regression analysis was applied to test the
causality relationship between E- Government Development level, Logistics
Performance level and Information and Communication Technology Development
level which are considered to be effective on the ease of doing business.
According to the research results, it has been seen that the investments on
information and communication technologies, logistics performance
and E-Government development investments significantly and positively affect the
ease of doing business.

6. Importance of
Entrepreneurship in Afghanistan
Entrepreneurship is the key source for Afghanistan to upgrade the current
economy. however, over the last five years the economy of Afghanistan has
improved as compared to the earlier years, such as; the number of infrastructural
projects, investments, the opening of Afghanistan’s trade corridors with China,
Azerbaijan,
Despite the abundance of natural and human resources in Afghanistan, the
country still requires facilitated platforms to manage them, as yet there has been
no proper management and utilization of those resources, that could yield the
economy of Afghanistan. Hence, there is an immense need for Entrepreneurship
to become conventional in Afghanistan which unfortunately faces serious
complications in the country.

7. Financial Challenges for
Entrepreneurship in Afghanistan
Unlike other countries, Afghanistan has no proper funding organizations for Start-
ups, which is a major deterrence for the individuals in Afghanistan to instigate
ventures.
On the other hand, in India, there are number of facilitated organizations that
provide funds for Start-up, such as; Angel Funding for Start-ups in India, Seed
Funding for Indian Start-ups, Business Startup Funding Company India, these
organizations have made it quite easy for the individuals to start their ventures,
which is why India is lucrative for new ventures.

8. Financial Challenges ----
The unavailability of Fund providing Organizations in Afghanistan impede the
Afghan Entrepreneurs to start their businesses.
In order to enhance the country’s economy and put out the slowdown, the
Government of Afghanistan must avail the proper platforms for Start-ups and
Entrepreneurs to undertake their ventures. There needs to be sufficed Fund
providing institutions for start-ups.
Entrepreneurship should be kept away from the political influences, the required
Capital has to be made available for the Starters, the Afghan Brand image should
hold a trustworthy position and a reliable identification both in domestic and
international levels.

9. HOW DID ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOP
IN AFGHANISTAN?
In Afghanistan, policy has always been biased towards the élite. This is especially
true of the economic policy which has been biased towards the large scale sector.
The result is that this sector has developed on the incentives of rent-seeking
rather than entrepreneurship.
The development of small scale sector to some extent reflects the characteristics
of entrepreneurship however this sector has largely grown up as an informal
sector continually besieged by the state in its quest to protect its favourite child the
large formal sector. Below we will attempt to understand the historical tension
between rent-seeking and entrepreneurship in Afghanistan.

10. Big Push for Industry - Entrepreneurship
Revolution
For most of the time since independence, ‘enterprise’ for the government was
synonymous to large industry only. Various policy measures, such as tariff
protection, import licensing schemes and other controls on imports, rather than
enhancing productivity or encourage industrialisation for growth, instead adversely
affected the country by giving rise to a new elite—not entrepreneurs but rent
seekers. The government policy was never neutral and favoured industrialisation
through out.
The period, 1947-1958, was that of emerging exchange rate and trade policies
and import substitution industrialisation. Although in its first five years after
independence, the country achieved impressive growth rates despite the non
existent base and the odds that existed. From 1953 to 1964, “Virtually all imports
into Afghanistan were regulated by some form of quantitative controls”. With
controls imposed on imports, especially on consumer goods and supplie..

11. Challenges for Entrepreneurs in Afghanistan
Afghanistan remains a country in crisis, where even stability seems a long way
off. Nevertheless, women and men are taking steps towards recovery and
prosperity through entrepreneurship. Of course, challenges remain when
working on women’s economic empowerment in the current political situation.
The international community must step up to support those women pursuing
economic empowerment for themselves and their peers with creativity and
courage.
The communities in Afghanistan are working on pathways toward sustainable
economic development. Together, UNDP and UNHCR are supporting their
aspirations for self-reliance and prosperity. The joint programme is one
example of how the UN family works with local partners and communities to put
women’s economic empowerment at the heart of sustainable value chains

12. Socio-economic Issues
Though, President Ghani has promised to provide 2.1 million jobs within the
next years but, the unemployment rate is expected to be 8.90% in the year
2019, it is further projected to be around 8.80 in the year 2020.
A statistical study shows that the poverty rate of Afghanistan raised to 80% in
the years 2022-2024 and 90% of the population lives above the specified
poverty line, and half of the population is living on less than a dollar per day.

13. Socio-Political Issues
Pressures from people of influence, having networks in central and local
governments have created a halt for start-ups in terms of paying them a certain
amount of money and several installments, in order to allow the Entrepreneurs,
establish and run their ventures.
Second, the ambiguous political stability of Afghanistan creates an atmosphere
of untrustworthiness in the individual’s mind to undertake start-ups.
Third, the threat of extremism from international groups and the insurgent
groups entering into Afghanistan, fighting the government, forcing the local
residents for cultivating narcotics which is monetarily lucrative both for the local
residents and the insurgents. This practice diverts the local and small starters
from running their desired businesses to the illegitimate businesses

14. Women Entrepreneurs in Afghanistan
Women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan face many challenges that limit their
potential and participation in the private sector. Some of these challenges
include lack of access to finance, skills, markets, and enabling environment.
To support and promote women entrepreneurs,
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) organized an exhibition
on 15-16 of November in UN compound in Kabul to showcase their unique
products, connect with potential customers, investors, and partners and foster
networking opportunities. The exhibition aimed to enhance the visibility and
success of women-led businesses while contributing to the empowerment and
growth of Afghan women.

15. Conclusion
Afghanistan in international indices and addressed its place in four indices which
are particularly considered to be effective in entrepreneurial investments which will
strengthen the economy.
Entrepreneurship is an important concept for many countries. The strong economy
can enable the countries to reach the high level of development and prosperity
and their entrepreneurial activities are the most important weapon of their powerful
economies. For Afghanistan, which has an important place for the Middle East,
entrepreneurial activities are indispensable and vitally important. Afghanistan has
been of great value to the great powers because of its natural resources
throughout its history. Thus, internal and ethnic conflicts have occurred in the
country occasionally resulting from internal dynamics and sometimes external
factors. Afghanistan has been exposed to internal conflicts or external
interventions from past to present and has not developed in the economic sense
due to its different ethnic groups and geopolitical location