Archive for '1. Afghanistan'
Bpeace honors Pioneer Gamechanger, dressbarn founder Roslyn Jaffe
Posted on 23. Apr, 2013 by Kate Buggeln.
Roslyn Jaffe wanted to change the way women shopped. In an effort to make fashion affordable, she opened the first dressbarn store in Stamford, Connecticut. Bpeace honors dressbarn founder Roslyn Jaffe with the Bpeace Pioneer Gamechanger Award. dressbarn was Bpeace's first Host Company.
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Bpeace recognizes U.S. State Department as Pioneer Gamechanger
Posted on 23. Apr, 2013 by Marla Gitterman.
When Bpeace was ready to enter Afghanistan in 2004, we needed money. Our friends and partners at that time – Women for Afghan Women – pointed us to a grant opportunity at the U.S. State Department.
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UN WOMEN honored as Bpeace Pioneer Gamechanger
Posted on 23. Apr, 2013 by Toni Maloney.
We needed more than a map to find Rwanda and Afghanistan in our early days. UN Women was Bpeace's Lewis & Clark and Christopher Columbus. We are proud to present UN Women with the Bpeace Pioneer Gamechanger Award.
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From the Oscars to Carnegie Hall, Afghans showcase their talents
Posted on 07. Mar, 2013 by Ashley Harden.
Afghanistan is everywhere you look – and not in the way you would expect. From Carnegie Hall and The Daily Show to the Oscars and the Grammy’s, Afghan artists and opinion-leaders are suddenly high profile. The Afghans and Afghan Americans amongst the Bpeace membership offer their insights on why they believe their country is on a roll.
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Achieving a vision and profit with Afghan education
Posted on 12. Feb, 2013 by Rena Fried.
"I have been successful through continuing to improve my own knowledge and my team’s managerial capacity," said Bpeace Fast Runner Reshad
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The entrepreneurial spirit thrives in Bamiyan
Posted on 20. Dec, 2012 by Eileen Guo.
In 2012, Bpeace expanded its Fast Runner program into Bamiyan. Separately, Bpeace member Eileen Guo was in Bamiyan to scout start-ups for her own film project. What she found was beauty and established businesses we had just accepted into Bpaece.
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Bpeace’s measured outcomes demonstrate our model works better than ever
Posted on 17. Aug, 2012 by Toni Maloney.
Among the entrepreneurs who have participated in the Bpeace program for more than one year, the average job growth is 39% and the average revenue growth is 34%!
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7 Habits of Highly Effective Bpeace Advocates
Posted on 16. Jul, 2012 by Marla Gitterman.
Bpeace Advocates are a rare breed. Part skill-based volunteer and part business coach, they offer specific and often technical advisory remotely through email and Skype. Advocates bring knowledge and generosity to help a Bpeace Afghan Fast Runner grow a business in a very difficult environment.
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Bpeace Afghan Fast Runners acquire knowledge and share culture at Host Companies
Posted on 12. Jun, 2012 by Rena Fried.
In April 2012, 11 Bpeace Afghan Fast Runners apprenticed on the job at 33 Host Companies in 12 states for the Bpeace Apprentice Road Trip (BART).
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Sad farewell to Paula Lerner
Posted on 07. Mar, 2012 by Toni Maloney.
In 2004, Paula Lerner traveled on Bpeace's second expedition to Afghanistan. From that trip forward her career course was forever altered and Bpeace grew up fast thanks to her lens.
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The many gifts of my friend Paula Lerner
Posted on 07. Mar, 2012 by Rangina Hamidi.
I met Paula Lerner during a Bpeace expedition to Kabul in 2007 where we just simply “clicked” the minute we met. Her genuine interest in the work and lives of Afghan women was immediately visible with her beautiful photographs.
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Kabul Fast Runners past and present convene
Posted on 08. Dec, 2011 by Toni Maloney.
Once a year, Bpeace hosts a reunion for all of the past and present Fast Runners in Kabul. Country Director, Soraya Omar, held the annual gathering for 21 business owners from the class of 2004, 2007, and the most recent class that started in 2010. For the first time there were two male Fast Runners among them.
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Afghans apprentice across the U.S. during the 2011 Bpeace Apprentice Road Trip
Posted on 04. Dec, 2011 by Rena Fried.
Thirty-seven Host Companies opened their doors to 9 Afghan Bpeace Fast Runners for the 2011 Bpeace Apprentice Road Trip (BART), sponsored in part by the U.S. Department of State.
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Bpeace experts and Afghan Fast Runners meet up in Dubai
Posted on 03. Jun, 2011 by Rena Fried.
A meeting of the minds at Dubai Women's College with Bpeace members from the U.S. spending the week with 16 Afghan Fast Runners.
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Marketing skills to Afghanistan via Dubai
Posted on 20. May, 2011 by Johnna Hobgood.
The desire for marketing skills is truly tangible among Bpeace’s Afghan Fast Runner entrepreneurs and I was excited to fulfill that need in early May 2011.
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Filtering HR practices to the Afghan culture
Posted on 19. May, 2011 by Phyllis Rosen.
The Bpeace Dubai Summit was a whirlwind trip that gave me the opportunity to teach HR management skills to 16 of Bpeace’s Afghan Fast Runners.
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The DOSTI soccer ball story
Posted on 26. Nov, 2010 by Toni Maloney.
Dosti balls are made with top-quality synthetic leather, providing superior bounce and shape; they are attractively silk-screened with a dove bird design in the colors of the Afghan flag. Every purchase of a DOSTI soccer ball creates empowerment through employment for the Afghan women who hand-stitch them.
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Shahla will help Afghan women stand taller
Posted on 18. Nov, 2010 by Rena Fried.
Shahla's 26 employees in her Kabul factory hand-make 20 shoes a day, using just one pedal-operated sewing machine and re-purposing used vehicle tires for the soles.
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Sora is chipping away at Afghanistan’s future
Posted on 16. Nov, 2010 by Rena Fried.
Chips are a favorite snack among Afghans yet they only have access to ones imported from Pakistan that are often burnt and can only be purchased in large, open packages. For Sora, who believes that Afghanistan has the best tasting potatoes in the world, this is an opportunity.
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Khalid brings new flavor to Afghanistan
Posted on 15. Nov, 2010 by Toni Maloney.
Khalid says his ice cream parlor offers one flavor--"plain." It's really cardamom with rosewater--a flavor so exquisite, that when he demonstrated it to a host company they immediately wanted to add the flavor to their menu.
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Tahera is counting on Afghanistan’s progress
Posted on 15. Nov, 2010 by Rena Fried.
In her extended family, Tahera was the first woman to take a job outside of the home. Today, 20 of her female relatives have followed her example and she is the manager of the Balkh Business Development Company.
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Zabi is building a better Afghanistan
Posted on 12. Nov, 2010 by Rena Fried.
Zabi's family construction company, JAC, focuses on schools and clinics because he understands that rebuilding the physical structures in Afghanistan is essential to rebuilding the country and sustaining peace.
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Azi has Afghanistan’s back-up planned
Posted on 10. Nov, 2010 by Rena Fried.
Azi is the co-owner of RAHA which offers IT services in Mazar, Afghanistan, to local businesses, and computer training courses to individuals.
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Fast Runners flower in the Arizona desert
Posted on 01. Nov, 2010 by Donna Fleetwood.
Project Artemis and Bpeace work hand in hand with women in Afghanistan who show potential as business builders. Four Bpeace member/volunteers were on hand last week to see our Fast Runners learn and grow.
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Afghan hats off to New York
Posted on 21. Oct, 2010 by Bpeace.
For the Fast Runners, Tuesday was their first day in NYC started with morning orientation at Fenton Communications. Then sandwiches (“Why do Americans like cold food?) and off on a double decker bus to tour Manhattan. There are 6 young men in this group, four women, plus Fahim our Entrepreneurial Advisor in Mazar, and Soraya [...]
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Peace, moms and hospitality
Posted on 03. Jun, 2010 by Bpeace.
In exhausting and exhilarating intimate dialogues, we helped the Fast Runners reach their ‘aha’ moments on the steps they need to take to progress their business ideas.
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Broadcasting success in Mazar
Posted on 03. Jun, 2010 by Bpeace.
Mobina, a 2007 Fast Runner, invited us to the radio station she operates. With over half a million listeners, her station is one of the most successful in the region.
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Afghans rising
Posted on 31. May, 2010 by Bpeace.
Bpeace is a witness to the business sophistication and worldliness that is emerging in Afghanistan. (Of course this doesn’t get much airtime anywhere.)
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Sightseeing in Mazar-e-Sharif
Posted on 30. May, 2010 by Bpeace.
Mazar feels like an Afghan city at peace–-a beacon of hope for the rest of the country.
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Laughter is the best Afghan medicine
Posted on 22. Nov, 2009 by Bpeace.
This year’s Afghan Fast Runner Annual Meeting was held at the Afghan Women’s Business Federation (AWBF). The room was filled with cakes and cookies and smiles.
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A good deed done in Afghanistan
Posted on 27. Mar, 2009 by Bpeace.
After running her manufacturing company out of a tent, Fatima and her 77 female carpenters will now be transitioning to a real building that Bpeace helped her purchase.
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New Englanders pull out the foodie stops for Afghans
Posted on 17. Oct, 2008 by Michelle Cote.
Four Bpeace Fast Runners are food processors who will spend two weeks in Maine learning from entrepreneurial natural and organic food companies.
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Afghan BARTies in Dubai: Back to school
Posted on 11. Nov, 2007 by Bpeace.
Fifteen Afghan Fast Runners arrived in Dubai for the Bpeace Apprentice Road Trip. They will be taking business classes and going on site visits.
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Connecting the dots in Kabul: Business, culture, and peace
Posted on 16. Apr, 2007 by Toni Maloney.
Kamela, who now employs 12 people in her Business Development Service consultancy, trained 3,000 people throughout Afghanistan to start businesses in the last year.
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Common ground in Kabul: renovation is heck, and yoga isn’t for wimps
Posted on 11. Dec, 2006 by Kate Buggeln.
Our mission: opening our Fast Runners’ new co-operative store called Rainbow Artisans; it’s the first all-female owned cooperative in Kabul.
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Working out and opening up: New beginnings for Afghan Fast Runners
Posted on 13. Jul, 2006 by Kate Buggeln.
Athena and Kate met with the Bpeace Fast Runners involved in the Rainbow Artisans cooperative. We worked with 12 Associates on their strategic and development plans.
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Show us the money–and the Afghan peace
Posted on 14. Apr, 2006 by Toni Maloney.
We started asking the Associates, “What’s new? What’s happened since we last caught up?” To hear all the progress in one sitting made the Bpeacers feel terrific.
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Fit happens in Afghanistan
Posted on 14. Dec, 2005 by Kate Buggeln.
This message of empowerment from two of Bpeace’s members, fitness gurus Jeff and Julie Castaldo, has a whole different meaning here in Afghanistan.
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Style Road Trip: Get to know a Fast Runner
Posted on 03. Jul, 2005 by Bpeace.
12 extraordinary entrepreneurs from Afghanistan are in New York for a three-week training program. The women attended classes at FIT and saw the city from above it all.
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Afghan Style Road Trip: Meeting the real deal
Posted on 03. Jul, 2005 by Bpeace.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America arranged for the ladies to meet Behnaz Sarafpour at her design studio. For Palwasha, it is the highlight of the day.
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Baby, it’s cold (in)side: Bringing some Bpeace heat to Kabul
Posted on 13. Feb, 2005 by Toni Maloney.
When our Afghan entrepreneurs had their first “aha” moment today, you could measure the ripple of happiness that went through the Kabul mission team.