Beyond the Burqa: Afghan Women Entrepreneurship
Wednesday, April 18, 2012 – **Event Cancelled Due to Travel Issues**
Stern Center, Great Room, 7:00 p.m.
Dr. Latifa will share her experience about starting a woman-owned business in Afghanistan and her viewpoint on current events in her country. Her thesis is that women-owned businesses can be a viable route to peace in Afghanistan.
Bpeace is a non profit organization providing pro bono business consulting to entrepreneurs in Afghanistan with a focus on women. Each year, with the assistance of the U.S. Dept of State, small groups of Afghan business owners travel to the US to learn best practices and apprentice in their field. Dr. Latifa has been in this program for 3 years.
Dr. Latifa graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy of Kabul in 1992. In 1996, she immigrated to Iran as a refugee from the Taliban and began producing kitchen accessories with other family members. When Dr. Latifa returned to Afghanistan she saw a need for modern, efficient and sanitary kitchens. In 2010 she founded Kitchen Kween. Kitchen Kween designs and provides cabinets as well as wire shelving and storage.
Don’t miss a rare opportunity to experience the news from Afghanistan on a local level, and find out how the growth of women owned business can provide stability in a conflict country.
Biography (provided by the speaker)
Dr. Latifa lives in Kabul with her 4 children and husband. She works as the women’s rights coordinator for an international NGO as well as owning her own business, Kitchen Kween. She is a graduate of Kabul University and was on the pharmacy faculty. She has completed Goldman Sachs 10,000 women program in Afghanistan, trained at Thunderbird School of Global Management, Project Artemis, and been a 3 year participant in the Bpeace Fast Runner program. Latifa has acquired land for her factory and she are her family are raising capital for construction.
Links: Forbes Magazine (Latifa quoted)