The Investment Climate in Afghanistan : Exploiting Opportunities in an Uncertain Environment

Abstract

In a post-conflict environment, attracting new foreign and domestic firms is central to private sector development. Existing firms at the end of sustained conflict are typically state-owned, are highly undercapitalized, have weak or nonexistent management, have a deskilled and underemployed labor force, and are in need of significant new capital investment. As is the case in any business environment, particularly in post-conflict countries, new investment decisions (into existing or new firms) usually depend on the availability of five basic factors: political and economic stability and security, clear unambiguous regulations, reasonable tax rates that are equitably enforced, access to finance and infrastructure, and an appropriately skilled workforce. In Afghanistan, these conditions are lacking. This report has been prepared to assist the government of Afghanistan to address its private sector development challenges. It acknowledges the achievements that have been accomplished since the fall of the Taliban regime, and it highlights both the investments that have taken place and the opportunities that remain to be captured. More important, it reviews the constraints that firms currently operating in Afghanistan face and makes policy recommendations on how these constraints can be addressed. In addition to a survey of 338 firms, the study makes reference to the numerous studies on the private sector that have been conducted recently.