NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE -The new British Afghan Business Association

Written by: Jonathan Ashby

As one who was born and bred in Britain, I have watched the refugee communities from around the world steadily coming to these shores in the past 40 years – the Jews, the Greek Cypriots, the Asians, the Italians, the Turks, the Kurds and  most recently the Afghans – and I wondered at first how they would ever manage to survive in their new homeland, especially given their different cultural backgrounds and the struggles many experienced in the beginning learn to speak, understand and write English.

The Jews and the Asians led the way. They worked together within their communities. They made a point of helping each other, by using each others skills and services to help one another, especially providing each other with income to enable each other to start small businesses and the secure regular income that comes with them, off the ground.
If you were an Asian back in the 1960s and you needed a plumber, or an electrician, or a builder, you looked for one within your own community.
You didn’t just start family owned and operated newsagents or grocery stores. Everything you needed – including food, clothing and taxis or mini cabs – you made sure you obtained by using the services of a fellow Asian.

The net result? The Asian community, along with British Jews and Greek Cypriots has prospered in their time here in Britain and many now operate very successful commercial ventures that cater for the communities at large in which they are based.
That’s why I was delighted to learn recently that an enterprising Afghan has taken the obvious yet still brave step of trying to form an association of British Afghan businessmen to achieve the same results as the Asians and the Jews.
I first came across Yama last year when the Afghan Association, Paiwand called upon his services to help them create a new Afghan community website.

The result, www.paiwand.com, still a work in progress, is a superb tool for informing the community at large about all the community activities and affairs of the Afghan Association, Paiwand, which you will already be aware of if you are reading this article.
Yama started out by creating an extraordinary business out of building websites for the community at large – the absolutely essential sales tool for any progressive business today – which you can clearly see by visiting his web business website at www.3upnet.com.
Yama’s slogan for the British Afghan Business Association is appropriately NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE.

He launched the organization earlier this year with the principal aims of providing help and support for British Afghan businesses and business professionals working and living in the UK, to create business development and networking opportunities and to promote and develop Afghan businesses in the UK.
His organisation offers to help members providing: Business training, Business startup, Limited company formation, Accountancy, Web development and IT support, visit www.babauk.org.
He is ongoingly creating the most comprehensive Afghan business finder in the UK and as part of that process offers company addresses, website addresses, and key contact information for any company or individual wanting to join.

All you have to do is enter a business name or type of business to start your search on the www.elonat.com website.
The British Afghan Business Association has another useful tool – a monthly magazine called Elonat which also has its own website at www.elonat.com
There you can find the online Afghan Business Finder which uses the latest internet technologies and programming and complementary databases to deliver a comprehensive resource for locating Afghan businesses in the UK.

The service is completely free of charge.
The vision of magazine and the website is to become the largest and comprehensive search engine for Afghan businesses in the UK. It aims to build on the success of its technology and continue to deliver innovative, leading-edge and cost-effective solutions to Afghan consumers and Afghan businesses based in the UK.
The Elonat magazine is a monthly publication, supporting networking Afghan businesses and organisations in the UK and you can take out a subscription or advertise your business in the magazine by going to the website.

The goal is to print 5,000 copies of the 32-page colour magazine, containing business news and information as well as advertisements and a business directory service.

The magazine is currently running a competition to enable one bright and beautiful Afghan girl to win a photo shoot opportunity and appear on the front page of the magazine.
To enter all you have to do is post a photo of yourself to Queensway Business Centre, Suite2, 32 Queensway, London, W2 3RX, or email it to frontpage@elonat.com

You have to sign your photo saying “I authorise Elonat Magazine and Website to publish my image” add your name, age and daytime number and, who knows, you could be a winner. You must be 18 or over. Every usable entry will be posted on the Elonat magazine website.
Summing up the ventures Yama says “I believe there are many talented people within the Afghan communities in the UK who can be very useful to each other and each other’s businesses and the development of those businesses and our job is to integrate and promote them.”

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