The Second Working Group Meeting on Boosting Private Sector and Entrepreneurship Policies in Afghanistan took place in Istanbul
Date: 26-27 April 2018
Venue: Istanbul - Türkiye

SESRIC attended the Second Working Group Meeting on Boosting Private Sector and Entrepreneurship Policies in Afghanistan that took place in Istanbul, Turkey from 26–27 April 2018. The meeting was organized by The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OEDC) in Collaboration with the European Union (EU).

The Second Working Group Meeting was organized to further explore policy recommendations to boost private sector development and competitiveness. The meeting allowed participants and experts from Afghanistan Government and private sector, OECD member countries, and international and regional organizations to delve into three priority areas agreed during the first meeting: business formalization, access to finance and government digitalization.

In the meeting, SESRIC contributed to supporting the government of Afghanistan efforts to boost Afghanistan’s private sector and entrepreneurship policies through delivering a presentation on how to develop SMEs in fragile and conflict-affected countries emphasizing on the context of Libya. Furthermore, SESRIC along with experts from the OECD Secretariat, national SME agencies, international and research organizations provided guidance and presented case studies, including Colombia, Lebanon, Libya, and Turkey.

The Working Group has been established to serve as a vehicle to discuss and develop various analyses and policy recommendations. It comprises experts from Afghanistan Government and private sector, OECD member countries, and international and regional organizations including SESRIC to enable in-depth experience sharing and discuss initial policy recommendations.