Colorado Business Roundtable Webinar:
Women’s Entrepreneurship in Afghanistan – Past Progress and Painful Predictions
11:00 am – 11:45 am MT
Event description: Afghan women started approximately 57,000 businesses in the last two decades – everything from restaurants, exporting companies, technology, media services, and more. The work of both IEEW and AWCCI have been a vital lifeline for training, infrastructure, and encouragement. Now that the Taliban has taken control of Afghanistan, the economic opportunities for women are likely to change drastically. This webinar will provide a briefing on the work that had been done by IEEW and AWCCI in the past and how the organizations are looking for allies to continue to provide services and training for women in Afghanistan and refugees.
Featuring:
- Anna Rohwer, Director of Global Operations, Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW)
- Manizha Wafeq, President and Co-Founder, Afghanistan Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI); In Country Facilitator of PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® (PTB), Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW)
Anna Rohwer, Director of Global Operations
Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW)
Anna Rohwer serves as the Director of Global Operations for the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women. She has more than 10 years of international development experience focused on global non-profit operations, programs, and communication. Anna’s career has spanned continents and sectors, with professional experience in girls’ empowerment, education, global health, safe water, and refugees. Through her extensive travels, she has become a seasoned cross-cultural communicator and collaborator with a desire to foster greater understanding and compassion across borders. Anna holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and Bachelor’s Degree in Economic Development from the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University and a Master’s Degree in Globalization and Development from the University of Manchester. She is also a graduate of Salt and Light Leadership Training’s Young Leaders Program and Leadership Oklahoma City’s LOYAL Program.
Manizha Wafeq
President and Co-Founder, Afghanistan Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI)
In Country Facilitator of PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® (PTB), Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW)
Manizha Wafeq is the President and co-founder Afghanistan Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI). Manizha has 19 years of experience in development, 15 of which have been focused on women’s empowerment and gender equality working with international, government and non governmental organizations. She has MBA from the American University of Afghanistan. Her persistent and influential lobbying skills resulted in several policy recommendations being incorporated and approved in Afghanistan. Among them were the 5% preference clause in the national procurement procedure of the government and 15-25% of industrial parks to be allocated to small, medium and women-owned businesses in the national industrial park’s policy.
Manizha is going into her 15th year of leading the PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® training in Kabul as the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women’s In-Country Facilitator for Afghanistan. In this role, she has taught and mentored more than 500 Afghan businesswomen from Kabul and more than 17 provinces.
Manizha has co-authored a training manual on Business Start-ups and a “Gender and the Legal Framework of Afghanistan” training manual. She is the founder of Bibi Khadija Award, an annual award honoring successful businesswomen and role models in Afghanistan. The award is named after the Prophet Mohammad’s wife, who was the first Muslim woman trader. Manizhahas also won several awards, such as the Enterprising Women Magazine Award from the United States, Leadership Award from the National Business Association of the US, and Young Activist Award from the Afghan Women’s Network and the Afghan Lower House of the Parliament.