The Kabul Tribune (KT) — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said its area-based development initiatives in Herat’s Jebrail area are helping revive local businesses, create jobs for returnees and women, and strengthen the community’s economy through loans, grants, vocational training and market infrastructure.
According to UNDP, the initiatives are being implemented
under its ABADEI programme, with support from the European Union-funded WE LEAD
project. The program has helped connect small businesses, local workshops,
markets and vulnerable households, creating what UNDP described as an emerging
local economic network.
UNDP said it provided specialized tailoring equipment to 18
small and medium-sized enterprises across Herat in 2025, including five in
Jebrail. One of the supported workshops now employs 25 workers, including 10 recent
returnees from Iran and seven women.
The program has also provided interest-free loans to more
than 1,300 vulnerable entrepreneurs across Herat province, including about 25
in Jebrail. One beneficiary, Bakhtawar Ansar, used a 100,000-afghani ($1,512) loan
to open a clothing shop after previously working from home with an irregular
income.
UNDP said matching grants have also helped businesses
expand. Sixteen such grants were provided across Herat, including five in
Jebrail. One recipient, Kamela Mirzaee, received a $10,000 matching grant to
purchase machinery and raw materials, increasing her workforce from 16 to 25
employees, most of them women.
The development program also helped establish Negin Bazaar
in Jebrail, replacing informal roadside stalls with a structured marketplace
containing 30 shops. UNDP said the market is now financially self-sustaining
through shop rentals that cover maintenance and management costs.
The initiative has also invested in infrastructure. In Sayed
Abad, a flood-protection wall was built to shield homes from seasonal flooding,
while roads were improved and canals rehabilitated. During construction,
vulnerable households received cash-for-work payments, injecting additional
income into the local economy.
UNDP also installed a 24.75-kilowatt solar power system and
provided 10 laptops to the Gawharshad Technical and Vocational Education and
Training Center in December 2025. The agency said the upgrades have enabled
4,625 students, including 207 returnees, to continue their training despite
frequent power shortages.
UNDP said the initiatives are intended to move Jebrail from
fragmented livelihoods toward a more self-sustaining local economy in which
businesses, workers, markets and community institutions support one another
