Seventeen young women have successfully started up their own businesses after completing a program through Start-Up-Valley center in Kabul, which aims to empower women to work for themselves. 

Center officials said they help women to start their own businesses and provide advise and technical support. 

One beneficiary of their services is Nabila Sharifi, who runs her own handicraft company. She said she has used the center for advice and through them learned to set up, run and market her business.

Sharifi says she is also trying to promote the culture of using locally produced goods. 

“There are a lot of problems in the business sector, but at this center we were able to learn a lot of work to improve our business, and this center assures us that we can be successful in our business,” Sharifi said.

Some of these newcomers are however working on new business ideas and innovations.

“I want to build a software manufacturing company in the future and this center provided us with the opportunity to develop our skills and to start a successful business,” said Fagan Yaftali, another center student. 

The center however teaches its students to assess the market before they start their business and to review the demand for their services. Following a thorough assessment, they then decide on whether their business would be viable. 

One of the center's trainer's, Ghayour Baware, said that to succeed in terms of opening a business, a small investment and technical advisory services in the country are needed.

“A large number of people who have a commercial idea come to this center and we try to provide technical assistance to enable these people to achieve their goals,” said Baware.

Officials at the Start-Up-Valley center said that so far, with the help of the USAID, they have been able to assist 17 women who have gone on to start small businesses.

According to some economists, the growth of small and medium businesses is the only solution to solving economic problems and unemployment in the country and have said government must support such initiatives.