In Afghanistan, there are many women-headed families because a large number of men were killed during the wars or are working away from home. An opportunity to start an income generating activity or a chance to get a job gives these women the strength to survive and helps them maintain their families.

The micro-finance programme offered by BRAC is an option to Afghan women who have the desire and ambition to start their own income- generating activities. Micro-finance serves as seed capital, allowing the poor Afghan women to begin and expand businesses. The programme also offers a saving facility as part of the micro-finance programme. The goal of BRAC micro-finance programme in Afghanistan is to extend support to alleviate poverty in the underdeveloped areas of Afghanistan that have no access to micro-finance services. These small loans have a remarkable impact on the lives of individual Afghan women at the grassroots level since their resultant income-generating capacity offers hope and opportunity for a better future. The programme follows the same criteria as BRAC Development Programme, but has been adapted to the Afghan context. With support from Microfinance Investment & Support Facility, Afghanistan(MISFA), Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), and World Bank, BRAC is implementing its micro-finance programme.

Village Organisation (VO)

BRAC focuses on institution building as a strategy for collective empowerment by forming Village organisations. Village organisations supply the platform for collective action for collective action in BRAC’s microfinance programme. Each VO is an association of poor and disadvantaged women who join together with a common interest to achieve economic sustainability.

Small Enterprise Programme (SEP)

The SEP loan aims to provide financial support to the 'missing middles' which belong neither to the target group of the standard micro finance programme, nor meet the necessary criteria to access support through formal financial institutions. The SEP loans support small businesses like bakeries, grocery stores, weaving businesses, stationary stores, cloth/clothing businesses, pharmacies, home appliance delivery stores and shoemaking factories. BRAC started providing small enterprise loans in July 2002. The loans vary from US$ 300 to US$ 750, but may go as high as US$ 1,000.