Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance and the World Bank (WB) signed a $22 million grant from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) for the Afghanistan New Market Development Project. The grant will help revitalize Afghanistan’s nascent private sector which is mainly dominated by small and medium enterprises.
“Developing the private sector is an integral part of the government’s strategy to ensure a prosperous and economically stable Afghanistan,” said Minister of Finance Dr. Omar Zakhilwal. “We hope the project will help boost the development of Afghanistan’s private enterprises and open new markets,” he added.
The Afghanistan New Market Development Project will pilot a business development program in four urban centers of Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad and Herat which are the major hubs of economic activity in the country. The project will help enterprises in these centers to gain market knowledge, improve the quality of their products, boost their productive capacity, acquire new technologies, and develop and implement business plans to increase their presence in both the domestic and export markets.
The project specifically aims to support approximately 750 enterprises (300 firms in Kabul, 150 firms in Jalalabad, 150 firms in Mazar-e-Sharif and 150 firms in Herat) as well as 10 business associations through a cost sharing facility to access business development services. The project is expected to create around 1,500 jobs.