UNDP Report Reveals the Struggle and Resilience of Women Entrepreneurs in Afghanistan.
Despite facing formidable challenges, women-owned and -led businesses in Afghanistan continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience, serving as vital pillars of economic stability and hope amidst adversity. These insights emerge from a comprehensive report titled "Listening to Women Entrepreneurs in Afghanistan. Their Struggle and Resilience," released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The report brings together insights from various data collection methods conducted over the last three years. It includes data from in-depth interviews in 2022, focus group discussions in 2023, and a 2024 quantitative survey with responses from more than 3,100 women, providing one of the most detailed views into the changing circumstances of women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan.
The research reveals that Afghanistan's women entrepreneurs face a range of hurdles and high costs of doing business. Deepened discrimination and operational constraints, coupled with a severely weakened financial system, have forced 41% of the over 3,000 women surveyed into debt, of whom only 5% had received loans via banks or microfinance institutions. Movement restrictions, with 73% reporting being unable to travel even to local markets without a mahram (male escorting family member), further exacerbate the challenges.
In Afghanistan, where a total of 15.8 million people are food insecure and the employment rate for working-age female members of households has halved to 6% over the past year, women are finding ways to tackle the challenges. Entrepreneurship has surfaced as a lifeline for women and their families. The survey shows that 80% of women-led enterprises rely on their business revenues as their primary source of income. Women-run businesses also create much-needed job opportunities for other women.