First bus for Afghan businesswomen

“Brave Business in a Bus” is a new project by OTB Foundation and She Works for Peace to help Afghan women build a future of independence and dignity through entrepreneurship. The aim is to provide training, support and concrete tools, despite the extremely precarious and poor conditions in Afghanistan today.

Kabul (AsiaNews) – Brave Business in a Bus (BBB) is the first mobile incubator for female entrepreneurship in Afghanistan, set up in an increasingly difficult context for Afghan women.

The project, promoted by the OTB Foundation in collaboration with She Works for Peace (SWFP), aims to offer training, support and concrete tools to women who want to start a micro-enterprise, bringing resources directly to the poorest neighborhoods of Kabul.

The initiative aims to reach women living in extremely precarious conditions, in a country where over 90% of the population lives below the poverty line and where the restrictions imposed by the Taliban regime have severely limited access to work and education for women.

“Brave Business in a Bus is not just an initiative that promotes female entrepreneurship, but a real opportunity for women's empowerment in a context where access to resources is extremely limited,” explains Arianna Alessi, vice president of the OTB Foundation. ”In a country devastated by conflict and restrictions, these women are the key to Afghanistan's social and economic rebirth.”

The program, which aims to support over 1,000 female micro-enterprises in the first six months, offers free training, entrepreneurial and managerial advice, technical assistance and access to production tools.

Participants - many of whom are mothers, widows or caregivers for disabled people - will be able to improve the management of their businesses through courses on marketing, accounting, product development and sales management.

The project was conceived by Selene Biffi, a cooperation expert and founder of She Works for Peace, a non-profit organization created at the request of Afghan women after the fall of Kabul in August 2021.

“In such a difficult context, female entrepreneurship becomes a fundamental key to allow Afghan women to take back control of their destiny and, at the same time, contribute to the reconstruction of the local economic and social fabric,” says Biffi.

”With Brave Business in a Bus we are offering them a real chance of economic independence and personal growth, with full respect for their dignity and their dreams. Every step we take together is a sign of hope and resilience.”

The idea of a mobile incubator stems from the need to circumvent the severe restrictions on mobility imposed on Afghan women. By going directly to the most marginalized neighborhoods, Brave Business in a Bus overcomes the logistical barriers that prevent many women from accessing the training they need to start their own businesses.

“In a context where employment opportunities are highly limited and currently linked to specific areas such as primary education, health and home-based entrepreneurship, one of the few possibilities is to start small production activities from home”, emphasizes Alessi.

“However, without adequate training and with often limited literacy, setting up a micro-enterprise becomes a real challenge. Brave Business in a Bus offers a concrete response to these difficulties, bringing support where it is most needed”.

The OTB Foundation has been working in Afghanistan for years, supporting projects dedicated to women and the most vulnerable groups. Its initiatives include “Pink Shuttle”, the first exclusively female public transport service in Kabul, and “Fearless Girls”, which offers legal and psychological support to girls detained in juvenile prisons for trying to escape forced marriages.

The foundation has also contributed to the creation of a boys' orphanage in the capital and recently inaugurated the first public girls' orphanage in the province of Kapisa.

“Our mission is clear: supporting Afghan women means helping to create the conditions for a future in which the dignity and rights of every woman can finally be respected, while recognizing the enormous challenges they still face today,” adds Alessi.

“Brave Business in a Bus is a tangible example of how education, economic inclusion and solidarity can transform the lives of those facing extreme difficulties”.