PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS(r) has been educating women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda for 14 years. To date, 80% of the 755 graduates are still in business and have created over 16,000 jobs for their countrymen and women. 90% of 2019 graduates pay it forward in their communities by empowering other women and young girls for a more stable and sustainable global future. PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS(r) women are excelling in all major industries; such as fashion, agribusiness, IT, and construction.
Women in countries torn apart by years of war and civil decay such as Afghanistan and Rwanda need the skills previously denied to them. In many cases, women are left as the sole providers for their extended families. Countries where women are gaining economic equality are more stable, fewer children are born to one family, and those children are more educated and much healthier. The PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS(r) program empowers women business owners with the skills to become strong economic actors.
PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS(r) in-country education includes business skills such as marketing, accounting, finance, and overall operations. In addition, students build their own business plan, their road map for the future. Hand-picked Mentors help guide and encourage students through the process and this camaraderie encourages students to complete the third component of the program, paying forward their knowledge to others in their communities, countries, and regions.
Over the past thirteen years, 755 women have graduated from the PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS(r) in-country program, almost half of those going on to Leadership Development in the USA. These alumnae have helped to create more than 16,000 jobs in Afghanistan and Rwanda for their fellow countrymen and women. The success stories offer a road map to potential program growth in more rural areas, as well as in other countries in need of a sustainable small and medium size business base.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
