General Information

2015 will go down in history as the year of the largest refugee crisis since World War II and, although exact figures are hard to come by, Afghans are estimated to comprise almost 36% (153,000) of the migrants who have reached Europe in the last twelve months. While Afghans have historically been amongst the largest groups seeking refugee status elsewhere, Afghans migrating towards Europe mostly belong to the younger generation, driven not by the security reasons most often cited by international media, but by economic necessity.

With the Afghan economy in a severe recession, unemployment has spread and created frustration and hopelessness among the young, highly educated generation of Afghanistan. These young Afghans feel that the rampant unemployment in Afghanistan is preventing them from realising their full potential and that nothing can be done by them or others to change this reality. These are the Afghans who are likely to feel that migrating to Europe is their best hope for a better life.

The long-term solution for the Afghan migrant problem is to increase economic (non-military) aid to Afghanistan and create a sustainable economic environment in which Afghans can grow and prosper. If organic economic growth can be achieved with new and fairly accessible income-generating employment opportunities, it is less likely that young Afghans will make the dangerous journey to Europe.

The Consortium of the Bright Future Programme consists of Stichting Cordaid, the Bayat Foundation, Crosswise Works and the Hamida Barmaki Organization for the Rule of Law.

Business Incubation

The aim of the business incubator is to train, support and coach over 450 startups that operate in Kabul, Afghanistan and help them grow their businesses or support them in getting their businesses started. Through a 3 month curriculum which includes a crowdfunding module, these startups will have increased their business model understanding and validated their initial ideas. An added bonus is the seed capital that is ultimately raised through the crowdfunding campaigns.

Strengthening the Business Climate

Any entrepreneur will tell you that in order to operate successfully, they need decent infrastructure, information flow and a climate that supports starting businesses. In order to enable our startups and SMEs to grow within a climate that supports their growth, we focus strongly on activities that support their knowledge and accessibility to for example finance. Trade missions, membership cards and the creation of a ‘Made in Afghanistan’ shop all support entrepreneurs to achieve success.