ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
2001: 6 commercial banks
2009: 17 commercial
banks
Bergen writes that, under the Taliban, "[t]here were just six commercial banks in the entire country, and, according to the IMF, they were 'largely inactive.'" By 2009, however, there were 17 banks operating in Afghanistan, with branches all around the country.
In 2009, Forbes reported that the value deposited in those banks had grown 69 percent since 2008. The value of outstanding loans was also up by 37 percent in a single year. "In Afghanistan there is a great need for commercial banks that can provide capital for the private sector," said Farid Maqsudi, the founder of the Afghan International Bank. "Any bank with the right management and good corporate governance will do great here." Not to mention that the new banks have generated 5,000 jobs since 2003.
Bergen describes Afghanistan under the Taliban as anything but entrepreneurial: "Businesses were shuttered, just a few cars drove on the streets, and the 9 p.m. curfew was rigorously enforced by young Taliban foot soldiers," he writes. But today, "where once Kabul's streets were largely silent, they are now a bedlam of traffic and thriving small businesses."
Above, Afghan money changers count bank notes at the exchange market in downtown Kabul on Aug. 10, 2011.
SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images
