Afghan entrepreneurs looking for investors

Published Aug. 10, 2010
By By U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Jason Smith
Provincial Reconstruction Team Panjshir

PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan (Aug. 10, 2010) - Two Panjshir Province entrepreneurs are looking for investors to get into the marble business for huge returns on what they call a "sure thing."

Ghulam Nabi Yaqoobi, director of the Ghulam Nabi Yaqoobi Construction and Road Construction Company, and Ahmad Fawad, GNYCRC manager, said they already have offers from Canada, Germany, Dubai and Italy for some of the high-quality Panjshir marble, but they don't have enough equipment to meet the demand.

"Marble from Panjshir is the best quality of marble," said Fawad, through an interpreter. "In Kabul there are lots of marble companies, but we're the only marble company in Panjshir with access to this marble and granite. We have 100 percent offers from some major buyers in big countries"

Yaqoobi said, through an interpreter, his company is looking for $2 to 4 million investments. If he can gather a total of $15 million worth of investment cash, he has a business plan to get all of the equipment he needs and hire the 500 workers it will take to operate a major marble factory. His plan includes mining, processing, polishing and shipping.

GNYCRC is already profitable on a small scale, according to the partners. The small mining and factory operation is processing 500 to 2,000 finished tons of marble and granite per month now. They get paid between 3,000 and 5,000 Afghani per square-meter depending on the type of marble.

Yaqoobi has been operating the mining business for several years. He recently registered his business with the Ministry of Mines, making his operation a legitimate and Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan-approved business.

"GNYCRC is already selling a lot of marble to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Italy, the United States and Russia," said Curtis Rose, U.S. Agency for International Development field officer with Provincial Reconstruction Team Panjshir.

Rose said Yaqoobi is working on an international business plan with a good strategy.

"He recognized that he needs an outside investor and someone with expertise in exporting marble," said Rose. "He also realized that to be an international business, he has to meet international standards. He has a quality control process and safety program established for his mining operation."

Along with doing things correctly, Rose said GNYCRC has a quality product.

"In April 2010, there was a big marble conference in Herat, Afghanistan," said Rose. "GNYCRC sent samples in advance so they could be graded and tested by Italian testers. Their samples came back as 'very high quality.'"

A marble polisher is the first immediate need of GNYCRC. Fawad said his business had secured a $300,000 contract, but lost it because an Iranian firm was able to polish the marble. He said a company in Kabul selected his samples for a $900,000 project, but GNYCRC doesn't have enough equipment to meet the terms of the contract.

"For $60,000 we could get a marble polisher," said Fawad. "That would've given us the $300,000 contract for sure."

Yaqoobi said people who want to learn more about marble in Panjshir can contact him via e-mail at gny_crc@yahoo.com.