Reality TV show stirs business spirit in Afghanistan

By Jonathon Burch

KABUL (Reuters) - A reality TV show broadcast in Afghanistan has encouraged Afghans to start their own enterprises, stirring entrepreneurial spirits in a country that has been ravaged by three decades of war.

The program, "Fikr wa Talash", or "Dream and Achieve" in English, is loosely based on the popular "Dragons Den" series, in which contestants pitch their business ideas to a panel of tycoons in return for cash for their companies.

The programme, the latest in a series of popular reality shows that have taken Afghanistan by storm, is more than just entertainment. Its supporters hope that by encouraging small businesses, the program will help Afghanistan's economy become more self-reliant.

"Small and medium-sized businesses, which are by far the largest employer, be it small self-employed farmers selling a surplus or a shop-keeper, trader ... are the key to achieving such self reliance," said David Elliot, a development consultant for the program's makers.

"Yet business skills and thinking, such as financial planning, marketing, competitive strategy, are all relatively new concepts that are needed to create a stronger, more resilient and healthy private sector, capable of being the 'engine of growth' for the economy," added Elliot.

Decades of war have devastated the Afghan economy and infrastructure and Afghanistan is still one of the world's poorest countries despite receiving billions of dollars of international aid since 2001.

The Afghan government relies on aid for about 90 percent of its total expenditure. Unemployment stands at around 40 percent with 80 percent of Afghanistan's labour force employed in agriculture. GDP per capita stood at just $1000 in 2007.

The show's sponsors, including U.S. government aid agency USAID, mobile phone operator Roshan and Bank-e-Milli, saw the program as an opportunity to foster an entrepreneurial spirit among ordinary Afghans.