DUBAI // Ask any small business owner how hard it is to get a new venture off the ground, and the answer is likely to be "extremely". Most, though, do not list the Taliban among their headaches.
For Masooma Habibi, the war in Afghanistan has made running her electrical engineering consultancy a constant trial. And business in Kabul will only pick up, she said, when two months go by without a Taliban attack.
"They are a threat to our businesses," she said at a workshop session in Dubai yesterday. "There are no jobs in the country and people go to them instead of building Afghanistan's economy."
She has found it tough, too, to win contracts for work against the foreign companies "who have all the money and power".
"We barely get any profit because we come last in line and as there are also no investors in Afghanistan due to a lack of security, our business really depends on the country's stability."
Ms Habibi was one of 12 Afghans who this weekend began the second phase of a three-year course at the Dubai Women's College intended to help develop their country's economy.
The new module, which runs until Wednesday, will provide the entrepreneurs with an insight on human resources, pricing and marketing, with lectures by American business experts and workshops by 12 DWC teachers. Originally due to be held in Kabul, it was moved to Dubai for security reasons.
On Wednesday, each member of the group will have five minutes to present a business plan to a panel of judges.
Haji Ekramuddin, the 31-year-old owner of a salt iodine processing company, said his country presented businesses with many hurdles.
"I invested a lot of money in my company but the country has serious issues with financial and marketing support," he said.
Soraya Omar, the country director of BPeace, the association that started the programme, said that in the absence of bank financing, Afghan entrepreneurs usually have to ask their relatives for loans or apply for grants from aid agencies.
"Exporting their products is also a problem," she added. "Afghanistan has no access to sea and transportation costs are high, so they can't have a good market overseas."
She also said road blocks in some areas prevented them from crossing borders to buy raw materials.
Ms Omar meets the group once a month in Afghanistan to discuss the issues they face.
Masooda Wahidi, 26, works for a ball company in Kabul.
"Soraya really helps us," she said. "This has taught me how to promote my product and attract new customers."
Khanaqa Niarzi, the 45-year-old owner of a jewellery shop in Kabul, is glad of the technical support the programme has given him.
"I have decided to start hiring more people once I go back to Afghanistan," he said. "I've learnt the strengths of my business and hope it will contribute to my country's development."
Toni Maloney, the chief executive of BPeace, said it gave the group hands-on training and valuable consulting. Just as importantly, though, "more jobs mean less violence".
"We want to help them expand to create jobs," she said, "because we believe it'll create peace."
cmalek@thenational.ae
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Schedule
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Isle of Dogs
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Ed Norton, Greta Gerwig, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson
Three stars
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
