Manizha Wafeq

 Manizha Wafeq (@WWafeq) is the co-founder of the Afghanistan Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI). She served as the CEO of the AWCCI for five years. Manizha Wafeq has 20 years of experience in development and for 16 years has been focused on women’s empowerment and gender equality working with international, government, and non-governmental organizations. She has an MBA from the American University of Afghanistan. Her persistent and influential lobbying skills resulted in several policy recommendations being incorporated and approved. Among them were the 5 percent preference clause in the national procurement procedure of the government and for 15 to 25 percent of industrial parks to be allocated to small, medium, and women-owned businesses in the national industrial park’s policy.

She has been teaching in PEACE THROUGH BUSINESS® program for 16 years at the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women. As country facilitator of this program, she has taught and mentored nearly 600 Afghan businesswomen from Kabul and more than 17 provinces.

She has co-authored a training manual on business start-ups and a “Gender and the Legal Framework of Afghanistan” training manual. She is also the founder of the Bibi Khadija Award, an annual award honoring successful businesswomen and role models in Afghanistan. The award is named after the Prophet Mohammad’s wife who was the first Muslim woman trader.

She is the Winner of several awards such as the Enterprising Women Magazine Award from the United States, Leadership Award from the National Business Association of the US, and Young Activist Award from the Afghan Women’s Network and the Afghan Lower House of the Parliament.