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Agriculture Rural Investment &
Enterprise Strengthening
ARIES is
a three year $80 million program of USAID designed to support the USAID
strategic objective of promoting a thriving licit economy led by the private
sector through the development of financial institutions.
The
ARIES program aims to provide expanded access to financial services in
the rural regions of Afghanistan,
and to create a strong private sector foundation for a sustainable finance
system capable of providing a range of financial services to rural areas.
The target of the program is all regions of the country.
ARIES
will assist existing institutions to reach new levels of outreach and
efficiency. Where institutions do not exist in priority areas, we will
create them or assist others to expand to new markets.
The Academy
for Educational Development (AED) is
managing the ARIES program on behalf of USAID and is carrying out the objectives
along with five experienced implementing partners. This program design
enables ARIES to offer financial services to a range of enterprises from
micro to primarily agro-based small, medium and even larger businesses
with a capacity to create significant number of jobs. Loan sizes can
range from less than $500 to more than $500,000.
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NEWS:
Economic Growth Updates:
26 Aug - 01 Sept 2009
USAID Extends Agriculture Loans in
South of Afghanistan: Over 66% of the USAID-funded 3,500 loans in the southern
region of Afghanistan has reached the agriculture sector, increasing
access of farmers to quality seeds, fertilizers, chemicals, and machinery
like tractors and threshers. A comparative regional analysis completed
recently by the Academy for Educational Development (AED) identifies the
southern region as receiving the largest proportion of loans extended to
the agriculture sector. Read
More...
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Economic Growth Updates:
17 - 25 Aug - 2009
USAID Program Supports Over 700
Farmers in Uruzgan: On August 17, members of the Uruzgan Islamic Investment and
Finance Cooperative (IIFC) joined a luncheon to wish good harvest for the
coming season. The event was held just a day before harvesting their
crops. Over 700 farmers have received agriculture loans through the
USAID-supported IIFC in Uruzgan. The loans have been largely used for
purchasing quality seeds, fertilizers, and chemicals, and renting
machineries such as tractors and threshers. IIFCs are community-based,
member-owned institutions founded by the World Council of Credit Unions
(WOCCU). They provide a range of Shariah compliant financial services to
their members. The Uruzgan IIFC is located in the southern region of Afghanistan.
The south is not only known as the biggest producer of illicit drugs but
it is also one. Read
More...
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Economic Growth Updates:
11 - 17 Aug - 2009
Afghans Utilize New Technology in Financial Transactions: On August 11, the Academy for
Educational Development (AED) in collaboration with the USAID-funded
Afghanistan Economic Governance and Private Sector Strengthening
(AEG&PSS) Program held a workshop in Kabul to discuss expansion of
M-Commerce (mobile phone banking) in Afghanistan. More than 60 people
attended the event, representing a wide spectrum of stakeholders that
included Afghan government, donors, implementing partners, financial
institutions, mobile phone companies, and NGOs. H.E. Abdul Qadeer Fitrat,
Governor of the Central Bank of Afghanistan and
Francis J. Ricciardone, Deputy Ambassador of the United States Embassy in
Kabul were the key
speakers in the workshop. They highlighted the role of the Read
More...
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 "Over
80 representatives from the Afghan government,
financial institutions, business development service companies,
donor agencies and partner organizations attended a workshop in Kabul
July 21-22 to identify obstacles to Small and Medium Enterprise (SME)
developent in Afghansitan, and to propose ways to overcome them.
Hosted by AED, in collaboration with the Microfinance Investment Support
Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA), and ShoreBank International (SBI)
the workshop identified a number of areas of consensus that will be
captured in a strategy paper. To learn more, please click here
Map of Provinces Under the ARIES Program Coverage
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ARIES
Implementing Partners:
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ARIES Brochure
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 Download (PDF 709KB)
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Success Stories
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Curiosity Opened the Door to a Long-Term
Job
Saifoor, a 42 years old man
was frequently walking around the markets in Jalalabad city, Nangarhar
province trying his luck to be contracted for a daily labor work. As
the only food provider of a nine-member family, Saifoor has always
wished for a long-term job.More......
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Dark
Nights No Longer Exist
Juma
Gul and Dawa Jan, the two brothers from Nazarabad village of
Shurkh-Rood district in Nangarhar
Province managed
to bring light to the dark nights of their neighborhoods. The brothers
had the knowledge of hydroelectricity but never had the financial means
to use it in their real life.More......
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Photo Gallery
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More Photos >>>>
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Updates
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01 – 08 November, 2009
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26
October – 01 November, 2009
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6 – 11 October, 2009
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