Despite myriad challenges, entrepreneurs in conflict and post-conflict environments have succeeded in building viable businesses that stabilize families and communities and foster economic growth on a national level. While the importance of entrepreneurship has been widely discussed, little is known and has been written about what works in terms of linking entrepreneurs with markets in these environments.

This project seeks to fill that gap by investigating efforts underway in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Liberia, among others, and exploring ways to improve market linkages for entrepreneurs. It will focus on new and growing firms, as well as examine firms that have developed into large-scale enterprises. It will also analyze the unique barriers facing female entrepreneurs and suggest ways the international community can best focus its efforts to address challenges seen by entrepreneurs in conflict and post-conflict environments.

It is directed by U.S. Foreign Policy Fellow and Deputy Director of the Women and Foreign Policy program Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.

This project is made possible by the generous support of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

The advisory council has been instrumental in establishing the endowed chair for Women and Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Founded by Jewelle Bickford, senior managing director at Rothschild North America Inc., its members include leaders from the business, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors throughout the country who have a keen interest in issues related to U.S. foreign policy toward women in developing countries. If you would like more information about the advisory council, please contact Dr. Coleman at icoleman@cfr.org or Ms. Ashley Harden, at aharden@cfr.org.

U.S. officials have spoken of the need to promote the “3 Ds”—defense, diplomacy, and development—in recognition of the fact that success in places like Afghanistan cannot come through military action alone. One area where the United States has committed to helping that country is public health, especially for women and children. A central element of the U.S. strategy is improving maternal health, which is crucial given that Afghanistan has some of the worst maternal mortality statistics in the world. With the generous support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, this project seeks to improve understanding of how the United States and international organizations can promote better maternal health in Afghanistan, and what larger benefits could result from such improvements in terms of defense, diplomacy, and development.

The goal of this project is to strengthen the role of family planning and reproductive health in U.S. foreign policy, with attention to the relationship between family planning and critical foreign policy issues such as economic development, security and stability, the environment, health, and women's empowerment. With the generous support of the UN Foundation, this project convened a study group comprising not only reproductive health experts, but also demographers, business people, former government and military officials, and others who bring a fresh perspective to the field. The project resulted in a report authored by Isobel Coleman and Gayle Lemmon, published in Spring 2011.