Afghan Students Learn Cross-border Business

The University of Central Asia’s (UCA’s) School of Professional and Continuing Education in Khorog, Tajikistan, in cooperation with the Association of Mountain Farmers “Milal-Inter,” organized an “Open Your Cross Border Business” workshop for 24 Afghan learners, including five women, in March 2011. Led by instructors from Milal-Inter, the two-day training covered topics such as “Selecting Business Ideas,” “Business Planning,” “Market Evaluation” and “Management Accounting.”

Participants attended seminars and completed group exercises, including analyzing sample business plans and developing a draft operating budget.

“This workshop was really interesting. We learned a lot of things [including] how to use accounting in business. We discussed the challenges of cross-border trade and how to overcome them,” said School of Professional and Continuing Education in Khorog student, Ahmad Shikeb.

These Afghan students are part of a 90-person cohort studying at the School of Professional and Continuing Education in Khorog, through the “Cross-border Vocational Education in Badakhshan” program, a joint UCA-USAID initiative which aims to foster cross-border cooperation and employment opportunities between Afghan Badakhshan and Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province (GBAO), Tajikistan.

Through the Cross-border Vocational Education in Badakhshan program, 60 Afghan students were awarded scholarships to study at School of Professional and Continuing Education in Khorog, and completed certificate programs and short-term courses in English, IT, and bookkeeping in May 2011. The program is also supporting 29 Afghans and a Tajik in completing vocational education training in the construction trades. These students will be awarded certificates by the end of August 2011.