American Women Promote Peace With Business Training
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Women in Afghanistan will soon be applying for the third Peace Through Business program, bringing them to the United States for business training. Twelve women attended the first session of this international program in 2007, and 13 in 2008. The 2008 class ranged in age from 21 to 48, and owned businesses ranging from tea and beauty shops to a soccer ball factory.
To be considered, women must own a business or have a concrete idea for a business they plan to start, be willing to mentor other women when they return to Afghanistan, speak English and be able to spend six weeks in the United States. Sponsors cover travel and program costs. Of the 118 who originally applied in 2008, answering questions by email, 20 were selected, and 13 were able to attend.
The program includes four weeks of on-campus training, one week with mentors in several U.S. cities, and a week in Washington, D.C.
Peace Through Business is the brainchild of the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women (IEEW) They worked with Northwood University’s campus in Midland, Michigan, to develop classroom training, which is presented in both English and Farsi, Afghanistan’s native language. The U.S. Afghan Women’s Council and the U.S. Department of State are also sponsors.
The first Peace Through Business training has been an outstanding success. The women who participated are volunteering time to encourage, educate and mentor others. And, while they came from different parts of Afghanistan and first met in the United States, they have begun joint ventures as well as developing training for other Afghan women.
Northwood University faculty members teach topics including basic business skills, creating a business plan and capital formation. The women then spend a week living and working with a mentor in an American business. The mentors continue skills development, such as “business plans, marketing and web site development,” says mentor Terri McNally-Beals, president of Global Capital Ltd. in Illinois. Northwood faculty step back in after the women return home with followup training and coaching by email.
Poverty and farming that provides bare subsistence for families even in the good years are major problems in Afghanistan, so helping to establish micro and small businesses can make huge contributions to the Afghan economy. Speakers at the 2008 graduation this year included Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States, Said Tayeb Jawad.
IIEW has recruited an impressive list of supporters for Peace Through Business, including AT&T Corp., Dell Computers, General Electric, Pfizer Inc. and United Parcel Service Inc., as well as a variety of regional businesses. Other sponsors include the Singer Foundation and entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens.
IIEW was thrilled last year when Mike O'Neal, president of Oklahoma Christian University, called to see if his university could provide the same Peace through Business program bringing Rwandan women to the U.S. The new program launched in 2008.