Small and Medium Enterprises Development and Regional Trade in Afghanistan

In Afghanistan’s turn to market economy after the US invasion in 2001, the private sector, 85 percent of it made up of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), was defined as the engine for growth. But the flow of tremendous aid and money tied to the military presence distracted the government from focusing on the development of SMEs and facilitating their access to market, which would ensure the sustainability of the economy in the long run.