Afghan Translator Who Became A 9/11 Millionaire

Afghanistan claims to be "open for business", and some super-rich Afghans have begun investing in their own country. But how soon can their money start replacing the billions of dollars in overseas aid the country has had so far?  

The "9/11 millionaire" is how Afghan entrepreneur and businessman Fahim Hashimy is often described. He made his fortune, which he modestly calls "small-sized", from contracts supplying Americans in the wartime years.


Before the international involvement in Afghanistan, Mr Hashimy - born and raised in Kabul - was a young English-language teacher and owned a bicycle.

With the arrival of American boots on Afghan soil he was one of the first to be recruited, in his early 20s, as an interpreter on a US military base.

At 35, he now heads an empire, the Hashimi Group, with an average turnaround of more than $200m (£134m) a year, which includes Afghanistan's second-biggest TV station, 1TV, as well as logistics and construction companies. He also launched East Horizon, a low-cost domestic airline, in 2013.

He puts his rapid career success down to luck.

"Not everyone spoke English and I was lucky I did. I also had the ambition and the vision, followed by hard work and commitment, and I knew how to write proposals," he told me.

Once he was firmly established with the military, and accustomed to "the American and British" way of doing things, he used his strong business nose to secure supply contracts from the international forces, starting with a small $600 order for bedsheets.

That was in 2005.

Now he is proud to have a contract with the Afghan National Army, supplying boots and fuel for soldiers.

 In 10 years, his five businesses have created on average more than 1,000 jobs for local Afghans and returned $15m to the Afghan economy, he says.

 

He is now a prominent national Afghan figure with powerful connections he denies having before.

"The political connections came after I became rich. And I did not get help from any politicians or any relationships with politicians.

"It was just the customer that I worked with, and down to our own commitment and a professional team."

 'Get rich quick?'

Is it easier to get rich in Afghanistan compared with elsewhere?

Fahim Hashimy sums up the Afghan dilemma.

"It's easy because there's no competition. But it's harder because it's very risky.

"If you owned a business in the UK, you wouldn't want to invest in Afghanistan because of the high risk.

"On the other hand, when we risk our capital here, we don't have to compete with those giants in the
 UK."

Culled From BBC