A consultative meeting was held in Nangarhar by a supporting organization to collaborate and address the challenges faced by small businesses.
Officials and organizers of the meeting stated that its objective was to assess traders’ problems and provide them with facilities.
“In this meeting, issues related to electricity, marketing, and access to financial resources were discussed. Solutions will be sought for these issues, and the concerns will be presented to the relevant departments,” stated Shakerullah Stanikzai, Deputy Director of Industry and Commerce in Nangarhar.
According to officials, 120 traders participated in the meeting and shared their problems and demands.
“Our goal is to bring these individuals together so that, through coordination, relevant institutions, banks, the private sector, and international organizations can discuss existing opportunities and challenges to find solutions. Additionally, small traders attending the meeting can meet with bank representatives and negotiate loans,” stated Naqibullah Durani, the meeting organizer.
Zakerullah Habibzai, who established a construction materials factory in Jalalabad nearly a decade ago, participated in the meeting to seek advice from other businessmen and expand his business.
Zakerullah Habibzai, a trader, said: “Initially, we started producing a few types of construction materials, but over time, we managed to expand our production to 72 types. When launching this initiative, we thought about how we could create job opportunities for our fellow citizens while also promoting agricultural production in this area.”
Traders found such consultative meetings beneficial for their business activities and called for their continuation.
“The development of small businesses and sharing challenges ahead are important topics for us,” stated Rafiqullah, another entrepreneur.
“We can directly convey our voices to the authorities so they can find solutions to our problems,”stated Abdul Jabbar Naizi another entrepreneur.
The organizers also added that, to support small businesses, representatives from certain private sectors were invited to introduce Islamic financing options and facilitate loan access.
