2007 Annual Report - Center for International Private Enterprise

Partners in SuccessTashabosEntrepreneurshipEducationA young studentlearns aboutgood businesspractices withCIPE’s Tashabosentrepreneurshipeducation program.CIPE’s entrepreneurship educationprogram for high school students inAfghanistan, Tashabos, has providedmore than 4,500 students nationwidewith an understanding of economicsand business skills. Tashabos students usewhat they learn in school to assist theirparents in creating more sustainable andprofitable businesses. In fact, the Tashabosteacher at Ansari High School in Kabulestimates that 200 enterprises have beenstarted by students as a direct result of theencouragement and inspiration they getfrom learning about small business.• Inspired by the Tashabos curriculum,15-year-old Muslim convinced hisfather to loan him the money toopen an eyeglass shop in the heartof Kabul’s city center in 2006. Hisbusiness is still growing, whichMuslim attributes to the additionalservices he continues to offer hiscustomers. He now carries sunglasses as well as reading glasses, and has set up an exam room with properdiagnostic equipment. In addition, Muslim helped his family open two other successful shops.• With his two older brothers, Sulaiman runs a plastic manufacturing business and a plastic slipperswholesale shop in the bazaar. Sulaiman reports, “The ideas that I learned from Tashabos helpedmy family business from going bankrupt. Most of the businesses in Kabul are losing due to strongcompetition from Chinese and Pakistani plastic products, and we still have a running business that isprofiting.”• Uninterested in business before Tashabos, Baset now plays a key role in his family’s tailoring shop. Hemarkets the business to new clients, including ministry employees, and secured a permit to sell at theU.S. Army base. He is also working to reduce the costs of inputs. In one year, Baset’s new businesstechniques increased revenues by 30-40 percent.44