Using impact logics

Impact logics show when investments can change lives

Keeping the focus on impact is probably the most important discipline in development project management. It is so tempting to support projects simply because the applicant looks like they can deliver the project successfully or the business idea itself looks good. But while we want convincing partners with good projects, we have to explain time and again to our applicants that we also want a "plus". We also want to see some tangible change experienced by poor people.

It is this impact on our target beneficiaries that justifies using UK tax payers' money to support private sector investment in Afghanistan. This is what makes the difference between a project that is fundable and one that (however good in itself) we will reject. The investment project is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

The tool that we have used for guiding our evaluation of concept notes and for internal training purposes is the impact logic. Impact logics are simply a way of tracing a path from the ABIF intervention to the effect that we want the intervention to create. We haven't done anything particularly complex or time consuming (and certainly no attempts to quantify impact!), but rather we have used the impact logic in its simplest format to test whether a given investment project has the potential to create market change that in turn will lead to a real benefit for a significant number of poor people in Afghanistan.

There is no doubt that the evaluation process has been enhanced by the integration of impact logics into the concept note stage. And at the same time it has helped in terms of developing our internal capacity. I have been really impressed by the way that the team has understood and adopted this way of thinking so quickly. It makes sense to them, so they can communicate more effectively with applicants and in the end we receive better applications.

The end result in this round is that we have now finalised our shortlist with 14 projects (so I was just a little bit optimistic thinking we would have 15), and thanks to the use of impact logics the selection rationale of each would stand up to poverty reduction scrutiny. Whether they survive the next stage of the detailed business plan and financing negotiations is a different matter, but there is no question that every project on our shortlist could (if implemented in the way described in the concept note) contribute to our strategic objective.

So I would argue strongly in favour of the use of simple and graphical impact logics. There is no better tool that I have found so far for checking out whether you can justify the use of tax payers' money in any given development project.

Oh, but please forget the ridiculous calculations and the complex spreadsheets giving "results" such as the USD4.26 net monthly income increase impact that you will have on 15,287 beneficiaries. It's a complete waste of time and the results are a heap of nonsense, whatever anyone might tell you!

What the taxi driver thinks...

View from the back seat, note the in-car entertainment!

Just back from a very productive trip to Herat. Over the last two days we visited all of the Herati applicants on our provisional shortlist plus a few that didn't quite make it but offer good potential for the second round.

One of the highlights of the trip was the chance to have a talk with a local taxi driver. This kind of reality check from spending time with somebody who has no agenda with our project, and probably zero exposure to the world of donors and development (apart from the occasional inquisitive passenger) is so valuable in forming my own opinions on the necessity and effectiveness of our work.

I don't want to risk getting the poor chap into trouble, so let's just say that his name was Abdul. And advance apologies for the way that I report the conversation, I realise that I have not captured the emotion of some of the story. But nevertheless, I believe that it is an encounter worth retelling.

Abdul the taxi driver is probably around 40 years old (I didn't like to ask) and one of 8 people in his family. He is the sole bread winner for his 5 children (oldest 13, down to the youngest aged just 1), his wife and his mother. He is from Herat and apart from a period spent as a refugee in Iran, he has always lived in the city.

His memories are sobering but at the same time his views on life are inspiring.

First, we discussed how he felt about the taxi driving and how things were going generally in Herat. I asked what it was like making a living as a taxi driver, how life is in Herat. He said that "for the rich businessmen everything is fine, but for people like me, all we can do is try to make enough money to survive." Abdul explained that he works about 12 hours per day, earning something between USD25 and 30, of which more than half goes on fuel. he also has to keep his taxi running, which costs him quite a lot in spare parts. He told me that sometimes he doesn't earn enough to feed the family properly and then he gets stressed and ends up having arguments with his wife. "Being a taxi driver in Kabul would be much better than Herat, there are more people."

He said that he tries really hard to avoid trouble with the traffic police, "I know all the rules of how to drive and I don't have problems." But his big issue is with corruption, "Every day people want money for something, sometimes I have to give 3 or 4 bribes every day. If the official price is 100Afs (USD2), I have to pay 300Afs."

As we talk about different things, he suddenly tells a story about his last job. He had a job driving for a government organisation, but when his annual contract came up, the boss told him that he had to pay 20,000Afs to keep his job, "but my salary was only 8,500Afs, and I couldn't afford it." He decided to complain, and then it turned out that other people were complaining about this person as well. Apparently, there was even a prosecution pending because this individual had been taking illegal payments from the companies that used his organisation's services. According to Abdul, everything had been investigated and the case prepared.

Then the person involved "went to Kabul and instead of losing his job, he paid off the people in the ministry and came back to Herat". I could tell that although Abdul accepted that life was like this, he still had a keen sense of the injustice of losing his own job while his boss kept his by paying off his superiors.

Giving alms at the mosque

We stopped off at the mosque in the centre of the city and walked through the beautiful courtyards. He shows me various details. But, I suppose not surprisingly, even as I am admiring the beauty of the building, seeing women and children begging by the entrance is a stark reminder of the poverty that pervades this country.

Once back in the car, we talked about whether things were getting any better or any worse. Abdul compared his current life with the past, he looked back on the time when Najibullah was president, "The security was much worse then. When you went out in the morning, you didn't know if you would come home in the evening. But things were cheap and the shops had plenty of things to buy. The best times were Dr Najib and the early Karzai times. Now it is very difficult."

But during the fighting between the Mujaheddin and the Russians things were not easy for Abdul's family. As the security in Herat got worse, his father was shot and killed when he was out on the streets. The family left Herat and went to Iran, but they found things difficult, "I couldn't work, people were very unfriendly, they treated us badly and shouted at us, calling us names." Abdul told the story of when he was queuing for bread in Iran, the local people would talk against him because he was buying more bread for his family, which was larger than the typical Iranian family, "I had to buy 5 breads for my family, but they only needed two."

We moved on to happier topics. Abdul told me more about his children. He says that having children is very expensive, that he pays 1,200 Afs each month for private school for two of his children, because "when they went to the public school, after two years they could not even write their names". Now he says that they are doing much better, after a year in the new school they can read and write. He is obviously very proud of their achievements.

Herat industrial park while landing

I tell him that I have two children. He says, "You are very sensible. I have tried to stop having children, but then I make mistakes!" We laugh together at the thought.

As we reach our destination, a factory on the industrial park near to Herat airport, I say to him that listening to his story made me so thankful that I was born in a more stable country. Rather foolishly, I said that if I were him I would be quite angry. He pauses before answering and says, "What can you do? This is what life is like."

My meeting at the industrial park is with one of the wealthiest businessmen in Herat. After an hour or so of admiring his newly installed production lines, it is time to leave and he walks me back to my car. When he sees the battered taxi, he looks surprised, "You came by taxi! That makes a change, you people normally come in armoured land cruisers with body guards... That's the way to know what is going on, talk with the ordinary people." We say goodbye, and part of me is feeling quite smug and self-satisfied with my decision to travel around Herat in a 1994 Corolla with "ordinary people". And then I realise with some regret how much more relaxed I had felt talking with a rich man about his big investment plans, compared to the discomfort I had felt as I listened to the tribulations of Abdul's life.

Rarely do I get the chance to have such a prolonged and interesting conversation with a stranger in Afghanistan. But Abdul's warmth and generosity of spirit really struck me and it reminded me that at the end of the day, development is about people who are living in miserable circumstances right now, and who have to struggle with all sorts of problems that I can barely imagine each and every day. I take my hat off to people like Abdul.

Shortlist

The view across Kabul from our office

So, finally we have a provisional shortlist, and now we are working with each of the applicants left in the competition to wrap up discussions on their concept notes ahead of a public announcement of who is on the final list.

We completed our applicant due diligence and earlier this week DFID gave their no objections to the shortlist we put forward (an arrangement that is in place for the first round only while we see how things go). It is good to report that (for now at least) everything seems to be going according to schedule.

We wrote to all of the applicants on 1 February to tell them whether they had been shortlisted or not. Not surprisingly since then we have had quite a few emails and phone calls from applicants that didn't make it through this time. These communications range from requests for feedback and suggestions as to how they can strengthen their concept for the next round, to assertions that we have made a mistake and that we should meet urgently to discuss "ways" in which the concept could be reconsidered for inclusion in this round. Our policy is to be very supportive to those who ask for help, and to politely decline any requests to reconsider the evaluation. The good news is that among those that didn't make it, there is a significant number of applicants with good concepts that can be further developed for resubmission in future rounds.

But for this round, there are 19 applicants on the provisional shortlist (two have fallen by the wayside since the Investment Panel meeting) and we have now sent detailed review points to each one. This is our chance to highlight areas where we need additional information or there are details here and there that need to be corrected. The applicants have until 14 February to respond to these review points and to sign a shortlisting memorandum of understanding.

The MoU sets out all of the "terms and conditions" of shortlisting, making it clear what the obligations exist (and do not exist) for the applicant and for ABIF. The purpose of the MoU is to avoid any future misunderstandings about the basis of the shortlisting and to keep relationships on a more formal, business like basis... we want to have a solid professional relationship with the applicants, but we do not want to get too close to them.

Assuming that everything goes to plan, we then intend to announce the final shortlist on 16 February. This will be when we move on to the full proposals; mobilising our expert pool and getting down into the details of each application. We will have two months or so to prepare full proposals. I have to say that as we move on from one stage to the next in this application process, the work gets more and more interesting and I am so looking forward to watching the business plans come together in the second stage.

In the meantime, our meetings with the applicants on the provisional shortlist go on (I hope that we will get over to Herat this week to do some site visits there). It is really interesting to see how the atmosphere in such meetings has changed. The prospect of the grant is much more real and the applicants now seem to be much more focused on what it is that we are asking for.

And as we go into this final stage of the first round, it is very pleasing that first, we have some strong applicants and very good concept notes to work with, and secondly, from a budget point of view we probably have more than we ideally need in the first round. This means that even though we are in the shortlisting stage, there is still a healthy element of competition in the air. I have no doubt that this will play to our advantage as we proceed towards the full proposals...

Tourism and leisure in Afghanistan

Checking in at Herat International Airport (May 2011)

For most people who don't know Afghanistan, and probably for many who do, the idea of tourism in this troubled country may sound just a little bit bizarre. Even putting the security issues to one side, the infrastructure, even in the major cities, leaves a little bit to be desired (as I was reminded when we flew to Herat last year).

In fact, the closest that most foreigners have ever come to Afghan tourism is using the tourist visa loophole in Dubai that allows you to enter the country with minimal documentation and at the same time limits your time in country to one month (the perfect excuse to take a regular break!).

Buddhist stone carved frieze from Kabul Museum

However, the idea of looking at tourism and leisure as a focus sector for ABIF is really beginning to take hold in my mind. Having traveled around the country quite a bit, I have seen what is happening already and got some idea of the potential for the sector. Places like Herat and Bamyan, or more remote provinces like Badakhshan offer some intriguing possibilities for different types of tourism, and on the leisure side there is a thriving wedding hall industry, many hotels (of hugely varying quality, it has to be said) and countless restaurants, and Kabul now even boasts a ten pin bowling alley...

Restoring ceramics at Kabul Museum

So clearly, there is a growing domestic leisure market, which could create job and income opportunities for urban and rural poor. The question for ABIF is whether there are interesting concepts and capable applicants out there. Is this a sector where we could add value?

In this respect our first round was quite promising. There were one or two concepts specifically about tourism or leisure, and then there were concept notes in areas such as handicrafts and vocational skills development that could be relevant to the sector in one way or another.

Interior of Zia Shah's car, awaiting restoration at Kabul museum

Before getting too carried away, obviously this needs some very careful reflection. So to encourage such contemplation of the potential and  also to inspire a bit of creative thinking, I dropped into the Kabul Museum after a meeting at the nearby American University this morning.

Despite the freezing cold rooms (that do not encourage the winter visitor to linger), seeing the amazing combination of ancient treasures and the triumph over much more recent history that this exhibition represents was really quite exciting. I was particularly taken by the small collection of artifacts from the Aynak excavation. The simple elegance and beauty of the stone and (most surprisingly, given the age of the site) wooden carved Buddhas was breathtaking.

Walking around Kabul museum made me think about the experience I have of working on cultural tourism related projects in Bulgaria, where just a few years ago this was a very neglected sector... but the real question for Afghanistan is about the wider potential and whether tourism and leisure projects could be implemented in Afghanistan in a commercially viable way? And if so, who (if anyone) would be interested to do so?

Darul Aman palace, Kabul

If anyone reading this blog has experience of domestic tourism and leisure or (let's call it) "extreme tourism" in inaccessible parts of the world, or is knowledgeable in the subject and could offer some useful advice, I would be very interested to hear suggestions as to what might or might not work in Afghanistan.

We have a bit of time before we have to finalise the focus sectors and themes for Round 2 of the fund, but it would be good to start thinking about whether we should try something quite so innovative as tourism in Afghanistan.

Friday in Kabul

Feeding the pigeons at the Shah-e doh shamshira mosque

Friday again, and the end of a long week... so I decided to go out for a walk and to take some photographs of a little bit of what is everyday Kabul.

For me this is the best way to introduce some sense of normality into a very bizarre lifestyle. It is so important to get out of the house, get away from the office and touch real life every now and then.

This afternoon, I went to the centre of the city where there is a street that runs along the side of Kabul river. It is always a busy part of the city on working days and at the weekend, several mosques (and the chance to feed the pigeons) draw the crowds.

By the river

Much of Kabul is either ugly concrete modernism from the 70's or 80's, or ugly baroque-istan from the last 10 years or so when a heady cocktail of drug money and international aid has funded the construction of some of the most shockingly awful architecture you can imagine. So it is always a pleasure to see parts of the city that have survived from earlier periods and still manage to give the place some character. This particular street and the row of shops that run its length is one such oasis.

It is bitterly cold in Kabul at the moment, despite the sunshine. There is a biting wind that seems to fall from the snow covered mountains that encircle the city. Kabul river is almost frozen solid and the normally dusty river bed is all snow. The streets away from the very centre of the city are often coated with ice, making driving or walking equally treacherous.

We parked the car by the Shah-e doh shamshira (King of two swords)
mosque, a wonderfully ornate building that dates back to the 1920's. The street in front of the mosque is always full of bird seed sellers and crowds of people gather around and feed the pigeons.

Shoe repairs and sales

I looked around wondering where to start, and it seemed as if every nook and cranny was occupied by one business or another. Everywhere you look, people are trading or just talking as if friends rather than buyers and sellers.

The moment that I opened the door to get out a young man came running up offering to wash the car for me. Despite my protestations that it has only just been washed, I knew from bitter experience that by the time I returned he would be polishing the windscreen with a cloth that is far dirtier than the car ever was and expecting something in return for his labours.

Given that I work in private sector development, it is hard to argue with the entrepreneurial spirit that drives such behaviour, but it would be really good if these guys would rinse their cloths and change the water a little bit more often. (Note to self; maybe scope for innovation in the car washing sector...)

Begging in the street

As I walked along the street my attention was constantly grabbed by something new, there are so many competing sights and sounds in this crowded city. It was difficult to know where to focus, it seems as if there is something to photograph wherever I look. The variety and the colour of Kabul street life never ceases to amaze me, and it is so difficult to capture any real sense of what it is like in photographs, it is noisy, smelly, constantly moving and changing shape...

Amid all of the bustle of the street, there was a lady sitting in front of one of the closed shops and begging. As I watched for a few minutes mostly she simply sat virtually motionless on the pavement ignored by all but the one or two passers by who handed some money to her.

The tragic reality is that begging is everywhere in Kabul, particularly where crowds gather, and sure enough as I walked on a few paces a small child started to tug at my sleeve wanting baksheesh, "one dollar, mister".

A practical course in negotiation skills

This is the common plea of such children, typically accompanied by a tilted head and a theatrically yearning look in the eyes. Cynically, I wonder if somewhere there is an illustrated guide to trying to look sweet while getting money from soft foreigners... what else can explain the consistency of style?

Leaving this disappointed 8 or 9 year old behind me, I start to systematically photograph the shop fronts, with the intention of putting together a series of photos to give an impression of the whole street. However, every now and again, something in particular captures my attention. I notice another child, seemingly the same age as the beggar negotiating the price for his shoe polishing service and then a small group of people caught up in their moment and completely unaware of me watching them.

Selling dried fruits

A couple of photos later, and I am conscious of a small group of teenage boys lining up in front of me and wanting to have their photos taken, and it seems rude not to... Another boy who is walking down by the river shouts up to me to have his picture taken. But these posed photos are not what I am after. 

I have driven down this street so many times and what has always struck me most as I look at the various shopfronts is the juxtaposition of the traditional and the new.

One shop sells karakul, another advertises itself as a military tailor and next door another shop offers computerised eyesight tests. The contrast extends to the marketing; the optician displays gaudy photographs of sophisticated equipment, while the karakul seller has a few pelts nailed to his wooden shutters.

Old and new

Whatever the future holds for Kabul, for sure this transitional period will not last long. In the ten years since I first came here, there have already been so many changes, inevitably this process will continue and something will have to give.

Suddenly crowds of people started to spill out of the mosque on to the pavements and into the street. The traffic grinds to a halt.

As with the shops, the people show the competing influences in contemporary Afghan lifestyles; many of the pedestrians walking along the pavement wear traditional Afghan dress while others, typically young men, have adopted western fashions. Add the occasional military uniform into this already eclectic mix and you end up with a sartorial reflection of Afghanistan today. As I looked down the street, my attention was caught by a particularly colourfully dressed couple weaving through the crowds.

Leaving the mosque

I completed my series of photos for today, knowing that I will have to come back several times to stand a chance of being able to portray the diversity of life on this one street.

I started to walk back to the car. As I get closer the car washer comes running towards me, waving his rag.

He asked (somewhat unconvincingly) for twenty dollars... I repeat his "bis dollar" with an incredulous laugh, hoping that he realises that he might have to adjust his negotiating position. He looks a bit downcast but I could see that he knew that the game was up.

I pull a hundred afghanis (approximately $2) from my wallet and hand it over to him, resigned to the fact that the car will need to be washed again in the morning. He pockets the money and wanders away in search of his next victim.

As we drove home, the setting sun streamed through the muddy streaks across the windscreen, making it virtually impossible to see where we are going. And of course, the water in the windscreen wash bottle was frozen...

The last few street traders hoping for some late evening custom are huddled around bonfires by the side of the road in an effort to stay warm.

Evaluation criteria and due diligence

Earlier this week we completed the initial evaluation of the 350 or so concept notes that we received before the deadline for submission on 12 January. I am delighted to say that we have a draft shortlist of some really very good ideas; some we were expecting and others that have come as a complete surprise.

Since Wednesday, we have been working with the applicants included in the draft shortlist to resolve issues arising from the evaluation and to complete the limited applicant due diligence. All of this has to be finished in the next few days ahead of announcing the final shortlist.

Marble processing business wanting to introduce supply chain innovation

The period between the deadline for concept notes and today has been incredibly demanding. Working our way through so many concept notes is no small task, we had to give each and every one a fair hearing, despite the fact that we were working to a fixed timetable and having to process several times more concepts than we had anticipated.

First we narrowed the field considerably by eliminating those concept notes that were ineligible for one reason or another; some very ineligible (NGO applicants etc), others that probably are eligible, but we had to say were ineligible for lack of evidence that they were eligible (if you see what I mean?). Our eligibility criteria involve yes or no answers so this step is relatively straightforward, it is not possible to be partially eligible. This largely technical first step in the evaluation process took out about half of the concept notes that we received.

Then we moved on to look at all of the concept notes left against our evaluation criteria. This stage involved a lot more judgment; we are looking at things like the management and financial strength of the applicant to implement the project, we want to see evidence of a distribution network that will allow the product or service achieve impact at scale and we also want to gauge the market presence and the reputation of the applicant. On the concept side, our criteria are that the investment:

• Will lead to a product of service that is relevant, accessible and affordable to ABIF's target beneficiaries; and
• Will produce a tangible benefit to ABIF's target beneficiaries as producers, workers or consumers.

At this stage, the outcome of our evaluation against each criteria is a categorisation of "strong", "borderline" or "weak", we do not give individual scores. We then have rules about how we amalgamate the individual evaluations into an overall evaluation of all of the eligible concept notes.

Raisin processing company that plans to introduce new drying technology

This process allowed us to develop a draft shortlist, which we took to our Investment Panel. Our panel comprises four members (three, including the chairman are Afghan, and one is British), all of whom have extremely valuable experience of working on private sector development in Afghanistan. The quality of the discussion during their two day review of our shortlist was very impressive. They each brought a different perspective according to their background, and the breadth and depth of their knowledge of the Afghan private sector was obvious. Generally there was a broad consensus on the merits or problems with one or another concept note, but it also has to be said that there were moments of very lively exchange, particularly on the meaning of innovation, the degree of risk associated with new ways of doing things and what ABIF should really be doing to incentivise innovation.


We looked at some really interesting ideas and often we wanted to know more than either the paper in front of us or the fund analyst presenting the concept note could tell us. Frequently, as the discussion progressed we constantly had to remind ourselves that we were looking at 4 page concept notes, not fully fledged business plans... we had to accept that there would be details that we would have to take on trust at this stage. Basically the panel review was about reaching a conclusion as to whether each concept note contained a good idea and whether the applicant looked as if they could implement that idea. We were simply opening the door to allow them to move forward, with no commitment on either side at this stage.

Printing business now looking to diversify with ABIF support

The good news is that at the end of the panel meeting, we were left with our good spirits intact and just over 20 concept notes that we all agreed we should take forward to the second stage of the application process, subject to our due diligence and clearing a number of questions with each applicant. The vast majority of questions raised by the panel related to the business model applicants were planning to implement (not always described very clearly) and the budget they had estimated (often considerably greater than would appear to be appropriate to the investment project or the applicant's financial history).

The due diligence prior to announcing the shortlist is limited to technical issues such as verifying identity and authority. We really want to know whether the person who is submitting the concept note is who they say they are and whether they have the authority to act on behalf of the applicant company and (if relevant) consortium. We also check that the applicant is properly licensed and is in good standing with the tax authorities and relevant sector regulator... all the usual type of things that allow us to draw conclusions as to whether this applicant is suitable for the shortlist or not.

We took the decision to visit as many of the applicants on the draft shortlist as possible. About 60% of them are based in Kabul, and of the remainder, we had already met several of them during the provincial visits we ran during the design phase or as a part of the first round marketing effort. This is what I really enjoy, getting out and about and talking with real business people about what they are doing, how their business is going and what they plan to do in the future. We were very careful to explain to all of the people we met that they have not yet been shortlisted, but that if they pass our due diligence and can answer various specific questions about their concept notes satisfactorily, there is a chance that they will be shortlisted for this round.

From washing machines to washing wool for carpets...

So Wednesday and Thursday were spent visiting a range of businesses from across all of our sectors. We have had factory tours, discussed business plans, looked at some amazing carpets, consumed copious amounts of tea and we have seen the scope for innovation and the impact it could have. At the same time, we have had to deliver some very straightforward messages about what we need from applicants; we often had to explain that the wishlist budget was not really the way forward, and that commercial viability means that a business will survive without donor subsidy. On the whole, our applicants have been very responsive to our requirements and limitations, and I am pretty confident that out of the current draft shortlist, the majority will make it onto the final shortlist which we will announce next month.

Given our limited resources and the way that the business community operates here, we really want to cover all bases before going public with the shortlist. So now is the time to address all of the fundamental issues we have identified with each concept note (whether it be something about the scope of the project, or the size of the budget, or the need for a consortium partner to bring required expertise), and only once we have obtained and recorded satisfactory answers to all of these questions will we move on to the full proposals. If we can't get the answers we need within the deadline set, we will remove the applicant from the draft shortlist and look to deal with the outstanding issues in time for the second round.

The last few weeks have been incredibly busy. It is amazing to see the ABIF team coming together, working extremely long hours, learning very fast as we go along, and developing their business analytical skills and understanding. We still have some way to go in terms of finalising our systems and building our own capacity, but things are definitely going in the right direction. I am truly impressed by the effort that the team is putting into their work and I cannot wait for the moment that we are ready to announce the shortlist and start work on the full proposals.

Calling for volunteers with financial modelling skills

We have an opportunity for volunteers with financial modelling skills to participate in our project. We think that this is probably a unique chance for you to develop your skills through practical experience in one of the most challenging business environments in the world. We hope that the combination of supporting private sector development in Afghanistan with building your CV will appeal to some of the brightest and most adventurous of you!

ABIF recently completed a survey of private sector investors in Afghanistan, which has allowed us to understand business risk perceptions and reach some conclusions on an implied cost of capital for the country. As explained in an earlier post (see Risk Based Approach to Challenge Fund), we now want to use this information in order to maximise the value for money of our limited grant fund.

We intend to use the implied cost of capital from the survey as an input to a financial model for each investment project. We will then calculate the size of grant that we need to give in order to incentivise a particular investment that produces a specified return.

We are working on the basis that the quantity of our grant should be determined by the impact on the investment cashflows that would increase the expected return on investment to that in a less risky environment. By taking this approach, we can reach a rational allocation of the grant fund that would maximise its leverage, allowing us to fund more projects and increase ABIF's overall development impact.

To do this financial modelling work, because we have very limited resources within the ABIF fund management team, we are looking for volunteers to help us to develop the individual models that we need. The first round of grants will be negotiated and awarded over the next 3 months, so we are looking for people who are available pretty much immediately.

We hope that there will be MBA students or finance students with financial modelling skills who are ready and willing to help out. The work could be done from wherever the modeller is based, we can provide all of the necessary information by email, so no trips to Afghanistan involved... but a huge amount of satisfaction from knowing that your work has been a key input to facilitating much needed investment in a very poor country. This project really does have the potential to be life changing for the thousands of people who will benefit from such investments.

If you are interested, or know anyone who might be interested to be involved in this fascinating project, please contact me through this blog or on my work email james.blewett@imurabba.org

Thank you, and we look forward to hearing from you.