Kardan University, in the interest of developing the future business leaders of Afghanistan, partnered with Bloom Afghanistan to organize a series of hands-on Business Trainings for students interested in starting their own small or medium business. The workshops were taught by a successful American business owner commencing from November 2018 – May 2019. The training series were conducted on four specific topics (From Idea to Model, Know Your Customers, Making the Numbers Work, Prove It and Pitch It).

These workshops, involving MBA, BBA, and Economics students at Kardan University, were focused around the practical aspects of turning each student’s business idea into a viable business model. After completing the four-workshop series, students created financial workups, clearly identified customer problem/solutions and value proposition, developed a business model, and prepared to pitch their business idea to foreign investors.

Participants learned about Customer Interviews, identifying their customers’ pain points, and assessing the opportunities to add value to their customers. Students also built a budget and financial model for their business, with a specific focus on the start-up phase and building traction. Participants were challenged to prove their business viability through setting up small-scale tests, pre-selling, or other experiments. Each participate came up with an overview of their (pitch) to potential investors that clearly communicated their desired investment, a story of the problem/solution they are addressing, and a basic understanding of their financial model.

Upon the completion of this course, participants are able to:
• Develop and present a thorough business model
• Design a financial plan and budget for their business
• Identify their unique value proposition and target customer market
• Effectively test their business idea on a small scale without requiring a major upfront investment
• Present to potential investors their business proposals and test results

After successfully completing the training courses, 30 students from the faculty of economics of Kardan University were honored on May 12, 2019, during an official certificate ceremony. Meanwhile, Dr. Sayed Abdul Moiz, Dean of Faculty of Economics at Kardan University shared his thanks and appreciation to Bloom Afghanistan and extended his warm wishes for further partnership between the two organizations.