A Bright Future - Afghan Youth Making it Work The private sector in Afghanistan is currently relatively small, and does not yet function as a job engine. The main reason why young people are not setting up businesses is because the environment for doing business is prohibitive, fraught with real and perceived risks, obstacles and constraints, which discourage potential entrepreneurs from starting new businesses. Of these risks some, such as political instability and insecurity, are outside of the control of individual entrepreneurs, others, such as corruption, access to finance and land and a non-competitive environment, are obstacles, which can be managed with assistance and support. Nepotism and corruption play an important role in the business sphere, in terms of exclusive instead of inclusive access to resources (land, finance). For startups the first needs are office, access to seed capital, access to training and coaching, for SME’s the needs are access to finance and land and access to business development services. For both startups as SME’s, skill development in particular related to business planning and marketing, building networks, learning how to deal with corruption and insecurity, building resilience, will be required to build businesses in a difficult environment. In the labour market, the withdrawal of military forces and the reduction of aid-related jobs has had a significant impact, resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. Although predictions based on government policies point into the direction of economic growth in the near future, in particular in the service sector, it is still unclear how, when and where this will manifest itself and how this will impact employment opportunities for urban-based, well-educated young people in particular. While acknowledging that a skills mismatch and poor job quality are causes for concern, the immediate problem in the labour market to address is a gap between the supply of well-educated and skilled young workers and the limited demand for skilled employees in a depressed economy. The reasons why well-educated urban youngsters cannot find employment are: • Lack of (suitable) jobs • Supply of qualified, highly skilled jobseekers far outstripping the demand, and • Corruption and nepotism in the hiring process The primary reason why existing laws are not being implemented is pervasive corruption. Poor knowledge and understanding of the laws, on the side of entrepreneurs and employees as well as government and employers, makes the law into a potential vehicle for corruption by predators. The lack of economic opportunities is one of the root causes for especially Afghan urban men to migrate. Youth unemployment in Afghanistan is dashing the dreams of millions of young people. A severely underdeveloped labour market, weak protection of property rights, opaqueness in the hiring processes, corruption and the horse trading of positions in return for political support and favours leaves many young urban Afghan men and women with hardly any hope of a prosperous future in their own country. Also the withdrawal of military forces and the reduction of aid-related jobs have had a significant impact resulting in the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs. While acknowledging that skills mismatch and poor job quality are causes for concern, the immediate problem in the labour market is a gap between the oversupply of well-educated and skilled young people and the limited demand for skilled employees in a depressed economy. With a relatively small private sector and a business environment that is prohibitive, fraught with real and perceived risks, potential entrepreneurs are often discouraged to starting new businesses. Of these risks some, such as political instability and insecurity, are outside the control of individual entrepreneurs, others, such as corruption, access to finance and land and a non-competitive environment, are obstacles which can be managed with assistance and support. Moreover, nepotism and corruption play an important role, both in the hiring process (in that knowing the right people is more important than having the right skills) as well as in the general business sphere, in terms of exclusive instead of inclusive access to resources, which increases the cost of doing business. Finally, even though existing Afghan laws are relatively progressive, the implementation of these laws is lacking. One of the reasons for this is the difficulty for both entrepreneurs and employees, as well as designated power actors, to navigate these complex (provisions in) existing laws and the ambiguity in the interpretation of these laws. Those working in relevant institutions often do not have a good (and shared) understanding of the law. Some important areas, such as the relations between employee and employer for example, are not well defined in labour law. Also, officials do not always know what their mandate is. This makes the law into a potential vehicle for corruption by predators. The above paints a very grim picture for young people in Afghanistan. With our programme we aim to stimulate economic growth in an economy that provides opportunities for all Afghans. The change we would love to see is on the one hand that the barriers that prevent young Afghans from actively participating in the economy are removed and on the other hand that young people have the faith and confidence that they can build up a future in Afghanistan, and wholeheartedly choose to stay in Afghanistan and contribute to the future of their country. The change we expect to see at least is that the barriers are reduced, the chances of young urban Afghans to start a business or to find gainful employment are improved, and that they are better positioned on the labour market. We also expect that as a result of our programme young urban Afghans will have a more positive outlook on and feel confident about their economic prospects and no longer consider embarking on a dangerous journey to Europe as their only option for a flourishing future. Hence, based on the above narrative the objectives of the Bright Future program are the following: 

1. To inspire, train, coach and facilitate young Afghan urban entrepreneurs to set up a successful business; 
2. To provide young urban Afghans with relevant skills, information and access to relevant networks and peers in order to be more connected and find gainful employment; 
3. To scale up Afghan small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in order to generate jobs, boost productivity and bring innovative products and services to the market; 
4. To strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem for setting up or expanding businesses, by improving the physical infrastructure and networks and the promotion of positive perceptions of the Afghan economic perspective; 
5. To improve the ease of doing business by relating policies, laws and regulations to a more conducive labor market . The Bright Future programme is designed for the younger generation in the urban environment of Kabul, an area with a high prevalence of university graduates and under- or unemployed youth. Specifically targeting urban, educated young Afghan men and women, the programme aims to convene a vibrant community of young professionals who are able and willing to contribute positively to the economic growth of their cities and country as either entrepreneurs or employees.