Afghanistan Rural Enterprise Development Program (AREDP) over the years while working for overall Enterprise development in five provinces, has consciously involved more women in its program. The program has facilitated women to build on their economic security through participation in Savings groups, Enterprise Development, Village Level Savings Groups (VSLAs), SMEs, etc. The fact that the overall women participation in AREDP program is about 58% on a weighted index, it talks volume on its intervention strategies and approach for women economic empowerment.

With the Government of Afghanistan’s step towards strengthening WEE and thereby taking up WEE-NPP ( Women Economic Empowerment – National Priority Program ), which is much more inclusive and one of its pillar is WEE-RDP (Women Economic Empowerment-Rural Development Program), AREDP with its experiences and successes so far, looking forward to be more systemic in its approach and work in partnership at all levels of its intervention and strengthen the business service providers and institutions in general and those of Women focused in particular.  AREDP while transitioning to WEE-RDP, would be more of a facilitating agency and involve Implementing Partners (IPs) & Facilitating Partners (FPs) who have been strengthened by Citizen Charter for overall growth of the rural economy.

WEE-RDP is designed to be a more women centric program and it would be scaled up to 34 provinces with better institutional alignment with WEE-NPP objectives. The new project intends to build on the overall experience of AREDP and would simultaneously leverage the institutional platform of CDCs established & nurtured under ongoing Citizen Charter program of MRRD. Under WEE-RDP, greater emphasis is being given to collaborating with non-governmental institutions, private sector entities, service providers and organizations and civil society organizations (CSOs) in implementation of project activities while fostering partnerships with both the public and private sector to leverage technical resources and access to finance. Synergies will also be built among potential government organizations (e.g. MoWA, MoLSAMD, MoCI, MAIL etc) and non-government and civil society organizations. The project will follow a demand-driven/market-led approach to establish market linkages at the national, provincial and local levels and special emphasis will be given to identify & support women centric sub-sectors.  Women led enterprises   and its further aggregation to higher level institutions will be promoted under WEE-RDP.