Creativity in Business

Written by: Husamuddin Hamdard

Some years back, we were witnesses of foreign goods in Afghan markets but in recent years, some businessmen are producing some materials inside the country that most people need them. AEPO’s writer/producer had a trip to Bamiyan province and there he has talked to a craftsman, Zahir Ahmadi.

Zahir Ahmadi says about his business: “We prepare footwear, bags, shoes, purses and some other items from cloth and felt for ladies. All of the products are in one color and we sell them as a set.

Our more customers are from Kabul, Kandahar, Nangarhar and other provinces who come for a picnic and visiting Bamiyan in the summer. We also send our products to Kabul city too. We have hired about 18 women in our manufactory and sometimes this number reaches to 30 women workers. Each worker could prepare 3 pieces of the mentioned items. We pay 100 Afghanis wage for each piece and we get 20-30 Afghanis to benefit from each item.”

Goods explanation:

AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to Muhammad Salim, a ceramics and electronics store owner in Kabul city.

Salim talks about his business: “Good attitude is the most important factor in business. When a customer comes to my store, I warmly welcome him and then I ask him/her to see the goods in the store. I always offer drinking water or tea for my customers. If an old customer comes to my store, I invite him to take a seat. If a customer wants to buy something, for example, a washing machine, I explain it to him/her that we have different varieties of washing machines. We talk about the producing country; quality, price and give him/her the warranty letter and then the customer trusts our goods. We get less benefit and therefore we have more customers.”