The United Nations Development Programme and UN Women have launched a joint financing initiative to expand access to capital for Afghan women entrepreneurs. The Afghanistan Women’s Fund for Resilient Enterprises (AWFRE) combines Sharia-compliant financing with business development support, targeting a major funding gap that has kept most women-led businesses reliant on personal savings or family loans.
Fewer than seven percent of women in Afghanistan have a bank account or use mobile money services, according to UN Women’s 2024 Afghanistan Gender Index. This financial exclusion has forced women entrepreneurs to rely on personal assets or informal borrowing to start and operate their businesses. Yet the demand for business ownership among Afghan women continues to grow. More than 10,000 women now hold business licenses, ten times the number five years ago, while an estimated 120,000 additional women are trading without formal licenses.
UNDP and UN Women announced an initial joint investment of USD 1.7 million to support approximately 1,500 women entrepreneurs over the coming year. The initiative is designed to indirectly benefit more than 14,000 people through stronger businesses, household incomes, and economic activity in their communities.
Financing and Skills Combined
AWFRE provides collateral-free financing alongside practical business support. Women entrepreneurs receive financial and digital literacy training, mentoring, business planning assistance, and help accessing new markets. This integrated approach addresses what program leaders identified as the core challenge: not a shortage of enterprise or ambition, but a lack of finance, skills, and networks needed to scale.
Turhan Saleh, UNDP Resident Representative in Afghanistan, said the initiative “brings these elements together: Sharia compliant, collateral free financing, practical business support and sustained mentorship to help women strengthen their businesses, build resilience and create more secure livelihoods for themselves and their families.”
UN Women Special Representative Susan Ferguson emphasized that expanding access to finance was critical. “Afghan women are finding ways to build businesses, despite the many obstacles they face,” she said. “Expanding access to finance can help women entrepreneurs turn their ideas and skills into stronger businesses, more jobs and greater economic security for their families and communities.”
Scaling Up to Reach More Entrepreneurs
UNDP and UN Women are seeking to mobilize an additional USD 10 million to expand AWFRE. Additional funding would enable another 10,000 women entrepreneurs to access financing and business support, indirectly benefiting an estimated 70,000 people. By combining access to finance with practical business support, the initiative aims to help women entrepreneurs move beyond subsistence and small-scale businesses, invest in their enterprises, reach new markets and build more sustainable sources of income.
In 2025, UN Women directly supported more than 5,000 Afghan women entrepreneurs, including 940 women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and 4,130 women who established income-generating livelihoods through loans via community-based or formal mechanisms. The new AWFRE initiative builds on this foundation while addressing the systemic financing barriers that continue to limit women’s economic participation in Afghanistan.
Frequently asked questions
What is AWFRE and what does it provide to Afghan women entrepreneurs?
AWFRE is the Afghanistan Women’s Fund for Resilient Enterprises, a joint UNDP and UN Women initiative providing Sharia-compliant, collateral-free financing alongside business development support including financial and digital literacy training, mentoring, business planning, and market access help.
How many Afghan women have access to formal banking and mobile money services?
Fewer than seven percent of women in Afghanistan have a bank account or use mobile money services, according to UN Women’s 2024 Afghanistan Gender Index.
How many Afghan women currently hold business licenses?
More than 10,000 Afghan women now hold business licenses, ten times the number five years ago, while an estimated 120,000 additional women are trading without formal licenses.
What is the initial funding amount for AWFRE and how many entrepreneurs will it support?
UNDP and UN Women announced an initial joint investment of USD 1.7 million to support approximately 1,500 women entrepreneurs over the coming year, indirectly benefiting more than 14,000 people.
How much additional funding are UNDP and UN Women seeking to expand AWFRE?
UNDP and UN Women are seeking to mobilize an additional USD 10 million to expand the initiative to 10,000 women entrepreneurs, indirectly benefiting an estimated 70,000 people.
