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USAID | Afghanistan

From the American People

Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan (FAIDA)

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Program

Economic Growth (Financial Sector and Investment Promotion)

Partners

Chemonics International

The Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan (FAIDA) program is helping the Afghan Government and the private sector develop a robust financial sector. FAIDA seeks to build the capacity of Afghan institutions to deliver finance, as well as develop a financial legal framework and market infrastructure that will foster economic growth and generate employment opportunities. FAIDA also directly assists Afghan women entrepreneurs by providing targeted business development, training, and mobile money support.

FAIDA Fact Sheet - Dec 2012 - FINAL

Mobile Money:

Mobile money is a “disruptive technology,” named as such because of its power to transform traditional economic development activities around the world. In Afghanistan, where less than 10 percent of the population has a bank account, but nearly 70 percent use mobile phones, USAID has a unique opportunity to increase access to financial services for the unbanked majority and build transparency into the financial system through the use of mobile money. With USAID support, mobile money is expected to increase access to efficient, transparent and low-cost alternatives to cash, while also rooting out corruption, improving governance, and undercutting financial threats to security. Mobile money has yet to achieve a sustainable scale in Afghanistan, but it shows much potential. For this reason, USAID is working closely with our local public and private partners to help educate consumers and explore ways to scale this promising technology. In 2013, USAID will expand its financial work to include all forms of electronic payment, including credit cards. This expansion will be implemented in partnership with the “Better Than Cash Alliance,” of which USAID is a founding member. Afghanistan will be the fifth country to join the alliance, which works to reduce cash payments for government salaries and services.

Mobile Money Fact Sheet - Dec 2012 - FINAL

Mobile Money University Contest:

This contest was held from April 18 through June 17, 2012 at 33 public and private universities across 18 provinces in Afghanistan.

Eight Afghan students were proclaimed winners of the nationwide senior university-students contest for innovative applications on mobile money.

The students with the winning entries received a cash prize of 250,000 AFN each, while their respective universities received five desktop computers with internet connections to be placed at the university libraries.

In The News

Study Shows Great Benefits of Mobile Technology for Afghan Women

22 May 2013

Some 80 percent of Afghan women have regular or occasional access to mobile phones, according to a survey conducted in late 2012. Funded by the...

Afghan Professionals Graduate from Distance Learning Program

30 March 2013 | Kabul, Afghanistan

Thirty-six Afghan professionals graduated on March 20, 2013 from the Distance Learning Diploma Programs offered by the Afghanistan Institute of Banking and Finance (AIBF) in...

86 Women Professionals Ready for Financial Sector Jobs

4 May 2013 | Kabul, Afghanistan

Eighty-six young women professionals, university graduates and senior students celebrated today the completion of a six-month internship program that prepared them to work in the...

Public School Teachers’ Salary Payment Goes Mobile

27 March 2013 | Kabul, Afghanistan

Teachers from Aisha-i-Durani High School in Kabul now know how easy it is to access their salary accounts with the use of a mobile phone....

Government of Afghanistan Joins Better Than Cash Alliance — Pledges to Address Poverty and Grow Economy by Shifting to Electronic Payments

22 January 2013 | NEW YORK, N.Y.

USAID/Afghanistan USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah and Afghanistan’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amirzai Sangin test a mobile money application at the launch...