The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) provides funding in support of this project, led by the Canadian non-profit organization, Peace Dividend Trust. Its purpose is to:

• Assist the Government of Afghanistan to establish its private sector strategy, particularly as it pertains to strengthening domestic markets.
• Increase the benefits of the international presence in Afghanistan by linking international buyers with Afghan sellers, thereby creating formal economic opportunities for Afghan entrepreneurs.
• Help develop Afghanistan’s economy by increasing productivity and tax revenues.

Focusing on four main regional centres — Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, and Kandahar — this project has achieved the following significant results to date:

• It has helped facilitate the flow of more than $396 million into the Afghan economy since 2006.
• More than 5,100 Afghan businesses have been registered in the Afghan Business Portal.

• Peace Dividend Trust
• PDM-Afghanistan
• Afghan First (PDF; 65.2kb)
• Business Portal