The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women have launched a $1.7 million joint initiative to support Afghan women entrepreneurs, providing Sharia-compliant financing, business training and market access to women-led businesses.
The two UN agencies said the initiative, called the Afghanistan Women’s Fund for Resilient Enterprises (AWFRE), will support approximately 1,500 women entrepreneurs over the next year. The program aims to strengthen women-owned businesses, improve household incomes and indirectly benefit more than 14,000 people across Afghanistan.
According to UNDP, the fund will offer collateral-free, Sharia-compliant financial support alongside financial and digital literacy training, business planning, mentoring and assistance in accessing local and regional markets. The agencies said the program is designed to help women sustain and expand businesses in an increasingly restrictive economic environment.
UNDP and UN Women said the initiative builds on efforts to preserve women’s livelihoods as Afghanistan’s economy continues to face high unemployment, declining international aid and limited access to finance for women-led enterprises.
The agencies noted that more than 10,000 Afghan women now hold business licenses, a figure they say has increased tenfold over the past five years despite restrictions imposed on women’s education, employment and public life.
UN Women said women entrepreneurs have become a critical source of income for many Afghan families as formal employment opportunities for women have narrowed. Many women-owned businesses now operate from homes or through small community enterprises after being barred from numerous sectors of public employment.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned that restrictions on women’s participation in education, work and public life have significantly reduced Afghanistan’s economic potential. UNDP estimates that excluding women from the workforce could cost Afghanistan billions of dollars in lost economic output over the coming years.
The AWFRE initiative is intended to help women keep businesses operating rather than replace broader economic reforms, UN officials said. They stressed that supporting women-led enterprises contributes to community resilience, food security and poverty reduction.
UNDP and UN Women also announced plans to mobilize an additional $10 million to expand the fund. If the additional financing is secured, the program could extend financial and business support to another 10,000 Afghan women entrepreneurs across the country.
The investment comes as the United Nations continues to advocate for Afghan women’s economic participation while maintaining humanitarian and development programs despite ongoing restrictions imposed by the Taliban.
