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Afghan women entrepreneurs join T-bird familyA group of Afghan women entrepreneurs joined the Thunderbird family Oct. 24 as graduates of Project Artemis, a two-week training program for businesswomen in the war-torn country.

“Welcome to the family,” Thunderbird School of Global Management President Ángel Cabrera, Ph.D., told the 14 graduates during a commencement ceremony in Glendale, Ariz. “Each of you has earned the right to call yourself a T-bird.”

Cabrera told the women they will meet fellow Thunderbirds all over the world who will reach out to them and treat them like family. “But just like any family,” he said, “there are rules and expectations.”

Cabrera said the first expectation is that the women will work hard to grow their businesses. “The beauty of business is that it creates opportunities for the people around you,” he said. “We want you to create hundreds or thousands of opportunities for other people.”

The second expectation, Cabrera said, is that the women will serve as ambassadors for Thunderbird and remember the school’s values. He said these values include respect for people of different backgrounds and cultures.

The third expectation is that the women will give back to Afghanistan, Thunderbird and Project Artemis.

The Afghan women arrived Oct. 11 for intensive business training that included workshops in leadership, finance, negotiation strategy, marketing and human resource management. The women also toured various businesses in the Phoenix community so they could meet U.S. entrepreneurs and see firsthand how other companies operate.

When the women return to Afghanistan on Oct. 26, they will continue working with Project Artemis mentors for the next two years.

Thunderbird launched Project Artemis in 2006 as a way to help women entrepreneurs succeed in Afghanistan in the post-Taliban era. During the first three years of the program, 44 women have graduated.
  
Thunderbird for Good Director Kellie Kreiser has played a key role in the development of the program. This year, she kept a daily diary of the women’s progress. To read these entries and see photos, visit  Global Citizenship, a Thunderbird Knowledge Network blog.