In 2002 Green Cities Fund co-founder Tran Tuong Nhu led a woman’s delegation, including Afghan-American women and a representative of Women’s World Banking, to Kabul, Afghanistan.   There they established the groundwork for PARWAZ, the first Afghan-run microlending institution in the country.  The project received much recognition and many awards. PARWAZ founding director, Katrine Fakiri, an Afghan-American, later became director of all microlending in Afghanistan.  In spite of the United States ending its occupation and freezing of funds, microlending continues in Afghanistan, helping small businesses.  The latest report on microlending in Afghanistan is here.

PARWAZ (“Mutahid”) is one of three microlending organizations the Taliban is allowing to operate.