Local entrepreneur helps DC businesses grow in Afghanistan

Many entrepreneurs don’ think of Afghanistan when expanding globally, but business should think twice or risk missing out on an opportunity, said the founder and CEO of global consulting and contracting firm MAIH Group.

Maryam Atmar has a unique background for a business leader in Annandale, Va. Born in Afghanistan, she helps businesses in the D.C. area interface with overseas companies for export opportunities, specifically in her native land.

One of the main mistakes that businesses, and even governments, make when doing business in Afghanistan is not engaging with locals, she said.

“Afghanistan is a tribal country. You need to know the people. You need to know the locals. You need to know the tribal leaders.”

Atmar said there’s a strong interplay between D.C.’s immigrant population and the entrepreneurial community.

“If you look at the history, many immigrant children are very successful. Just talking from my own family, there are many doctors, there are many entrepreneurs, there are many business owners that came as immigrants. Because they have so much hope, and they want to change, they can offer a lot.”

Female entrepreneurship is also different in the U.S. and Afghanistan. She runs Afghana, a non-profit organization that promotes women’s education and training in Afghanistan. “There are some amazing personalities, some amazing women that don’t have the resources,” to start their own businesses there, Atmar told What’s Working in Washington.

Afghanistan is a ripe place for exporting because much of the country’s old infrastructure for generating products and services has been lost, she said.

“Afghanistan used to generate everything, and export everything… but today, unfortunately,we have to bring [everything] from other countries, because we don’t have the equipment, we don’t have the training.”

Atmar says she hopes that spurring exports from D.C. will realign Afghanistan’s own economy.

“If we bring the skill, we bring the training, there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity for business in Afghanistan,” she said.

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