The takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban caused not only political crisis in the country but also uncertainty in business and unemployment.
The private sectors were “hit hard” as the businesses were halted and put to uncertainty, according to the latest survey conducted by the World Bank, reported The Khaama Press.
According to the survey, small enterprises have been hit hardest with about 38 per cent of them ceasing operations, comparing to 25 per cent among medium and 35 per cent among large businesses in the country.
Weighting the gender of business owners, the survey found that Afghan women have been more vulnerable than men, where 42 per cent of businesses owned by women are temporarily closed compared to 26 per cent firms owned by men, reported The Khaama Press.
Including all the other contributing factors, 82 per cent of the business owners who participated in the survey said the decline in consumer demand is the biggest reason for their bankruptcy.
Due to a shortage in sales, private companies have laid off more than half of their employees on average, rising concern about the unemployment rate in the country.
While the Taliban continues to struggle to layout a stable political framework, many private sectors faced a shortage in consumer’s demand, forcing investors to reduce operations and lay off a huge number of employees within the firm, reported The Khaama Press.
“The majority of surveyed businesses reported a drastic decline in consumer demand for their products and services and have been forced to scale back operations, reduce investments, and lay off employees,” the report said.
“Women employees in surveyed businesses faced more severe job losses than men employees – overall, three-quarters of women workers were laid off from surveyed firms since August 2021,” according to the report.
The finding shows Afghan domestic inputs have become more expensive and yet difficult to obtain due to supplier closure and supply chain disruptions, which all lead to price inflation since the beginning of political uncertainty, reported The Khaama Press.
Moreover, the survey pinpointed that access to imported goods have become difficult because of the ongoing border closures, rising value of the foreign currency and increase in goods prices.
Meanwhile, banking in the country had been mostly affected, with the survey suggesting banks have “increased reliance on cash transactions and informal money transfers,” reported The Khaama Press.
“Domestic transactions are adversely affected by constrained liquidity in the banking sector and by a lack of access to bank accounts and/or payment services,” the World Bank said.