July 2015—Summer temperatures can soar to 109 F in Qala-i-Naw, capital of Afghanistan’s northwestern province of Badghis. The power supply is erratic and most households don’t have refrigerators, which can be a problem—as well as a business opportunity.

Mohammad Kazem Nezami and Mohammed Haroon Jamshidy saw the opportunity and decided to set up Badghis’s first ice factory. But neither of them knew anything about how to operate it so, in 2013 they turned to USAID’s Assistance in Building Afghanistan by Developing Enterprises (ABADE) program, which helps business startups and expansion.

Under the program, appropriate technology was identified for the new factory and a modern containerized ice production assembly line was procured. ABADE’s support included the installation of the machinery and training of staff for one week.

The Badghis Ice Production Factory opened in May of this year.

“The containerized plant is safe to operate, compact, makes little noise while in operation, and is energy efficient. It is also fully automatic, which reduces human error,” says Jamshidy.

Previously, shopkeepers brought ice from Herat more than 200 kilometers away and sold it at a premium in Qala-i-Naw.

Mohammed Najib, a shopkeeper in Qala-i-Naw, says the new factory is an idea whose time has come. “For the first time, we have ice available any time of day, which I can sell at a lower price.”

ABADE, a $105-million, four-year project that started in October 2012, has formed more than 200 public-private investment partnerships so far with small and medium Afghan enterprises.

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