Program gives Afghan woman business mentoring

By JENNIFER LATSON Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

Aug. 14, 2009, 11:38PM

These may be tough times for American entrepreneurs, but some local business leaders are still finding ways to help their less fortunate counterparts in countries where the obstacles are perennial. June Ressler is the CEO of Cenergy, a Houston staffing and logistics consulting company that serves the oil and gas industry. Starting this week, Ressler will host a young Afghan businesswoman, Asma Ataie, as part of a business training program called Peace Through Business, which aims to educate and support female entrepreneurs in Afghanistan and Rwanda. Ataie, 23, is the youngest of the program’s 30 participants this year, and the owner of a small Afghan business development firm. Ressler spoke about the program, what she hopes to teach Ataie, and what she hopes to gain from mentoring. Excerpts follow.

Q: Tell me about the Peace Through Business program, and what appeals to you about it.

A: I think that it is very important to help people whenever you can. The Peace Through Business program allows women to help each other but goes beyond that — it allows women who don’t have much opportunity at all receive help from those of us who have a lot of opportunity.

Q: What kind of work will Asma Ataie do with your company, and what kind of skills will she learn?

A: Asma and I have been communicating back and forth. She has asked to receive help from our financial team on business planning and budgeting, from our IT group on certain software information and lessons, and from our sales team on marketing.

Q: How will those skills bolster her work in Afghanistan, and what long-term goals do you think they will help her achieve?

A: Our hope is that she returns with a lot more knowledge than she arrived with, and as we forge our relationship, the learning will not stop. She will have the ability to communicate with any one of us at Cenergy for help anytime.

Q: What do you hope to gain from working with Asma?

A: My gain is to help her, first and foremost. I will also gain by enriching the lives of my staff and family with an understanding of her life, which is so amazingly different than what we experience here in the U.S.

Q: Have you ever been to Afghanistan? What do you think is the toughest obstacle women in business face there?

A: I have never traveled to Afghanistan. The most amazing obstacle that women there must face is that they were not allowed to attend any school until just recently. This would be a barrier to do anything, not just starting a company. I am truly amazed that Asma has the ability to use a computer with tremendous knowledge already of many software programs. I can’t wait to better understand how she was able to learn so much in such a small period of time.

Q: What other steps do you think are necessary to promote women entrepreneurs in Afghanistan?

A: I need to better understand the current climate there by understanding Asma’s life before I can make any assessment on how to better support women entrepreneurs. I am sure that the Peace Through Business program is willing to do what it takes to really promote these women as much as possible. This is a very exciting and wonderful opportunity for everyone involved.

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