Report on Passage2Prosperity

To begin with we had a great set of mentors which made the learning experience more interesting
and full of fun. The full live project was of 5 days which comprised of 2 days (22nd -23rd Sept 2019)
training, followed by 3 days (24th -26th Sept 2019) of Trade Show. I would like to thank Atul Rawat Sir
& my college New Delhi Institute of Management(NDIM) for giving us this opportunity. Would also
like to thank our mentors Ahmad Faisal, Shafia Powell & Andy for being so cool and lenient with us.

On the first day we were introduced to the work of Data Collection by way of various activities and
games. We were given a brief introduction about the various programmes undertaken by USAID in
various parts of the world. They explained their way of working and their achievements till date by
way of some very interactive presentations. We were introduced to the Afghan culture and its
geographic variance by Faisal Sir. They briefed us on the way to interact with the vendors, and
believe me the Afghan people are very friendly and humble.

On the second day of our training we were given the practical training of Data Collection. We were
all handed over with I Pads. We were trained to work on the software “Survey Monkey”. It
comprised of the set of questions that we were supposed to ask the vendors. To practice on this
software and to make ourselves more acquainted with it, we were divided into groups of Vendors,
Data Collectors & Observers. With these activities we got to understand as to what is expected of us
during the trade show. We understood that we needed to be more sympathetic and compassionate
towards asking them some confidential questions related to their business. We understood that we
should behave with them in a more comforting way so that we could get the minute details about
their business deals during the trade show at the same time we should also assure them as to the
information they share here with us would only be used by USAID for future process and not with
anyone else. This group activity helped us to groom ourselves in a better way. It boosted our
confidence as well. Later in the evening we went out for a quick tour around the booth camps to get
a glimpse of the whole trade show and also to acquaint ourselves with our area of operation on the
floor. We came to know about the segments that were there on the floor as in the MDP Rooms, B2B
Rooms, Deals Rooms, etc.

Then came the first day of the trade show. It was inaugurated by the dignatories of US Embassy,
Afghanistan Embassy and member of Indian ministry by lighting the lamp. Their speech showcased
the international trade relations that is shared between the countries. We got to understand as to
how US is trying to boost the economy of Afghanistan in all possible ways. Indian ministry also
assured the Afghan vendors all types to support and ease in doing business in India. India is a
country which has welcomed all other countries to carry on their business activities here. The
inaugural programme was very promising and full of positivity. After this we were all out on the
booth camp section greeting all the vendors and trying to identify their respective booths. We all
were assigned a set of 6 to 7 vendors with whom we would have to interact twice on all the three
days of the trade show. Initially is took us a lot of time in finding the vendors and their respective
booths, but here Zakir Sir & Ahmad Sir came to our rescue as they helped us find the vendors. Here
we faced a new challenge, the challenge of language barrier as some of our vendors couldn’t speak
in English or in Hindi. We had to then take the help of some Afghan students who were there on the
floor. Though it took us a lot of time in our very first round of meeting but we eventually completed
it with ease and also then we formulated our methods that we need to implement in the next
possible interactions. On the first day most of us could meet our respective vendors only once so
there were only basic observations that our vendors could share with us. Later in the evening we
had to report to our mentors as to what information we could collect and the challenges we faced
during the first day. All the mentors were really good and helpful and they resolved the issues that
we faced. They were more concerned as to how they could make our work easy so that we could
take our surveys fast. So we decide to improvise some of their techniques and also some of our
techniques in taking the survey from the next day of the trade show.

The vendors that I was assigned were Fatana Bayat Trading whose proprietor was Fatana Bayat, a
beautiful and kind lady. Her business was of Afghan Jewellery, Clothing & Saffron. She was a very
daring lady she said she had taken over the family business after she lost her father, she is also into
social service. She teaches the Afghan women all the handicraft work in the jewellery & clothing
segment, so that they could make a living out of it. My next vendor was again a beautiful n
glamorous lady of Pawli Line Design, she was here with her amazing hand-made jewellery
collections. She was also into beauty and fashion segment so she had many contacts with some
Indian business houses who were dealing in the same and she was very excited to meet them in the
B2B sessions. Then talking about my next vendor was again a jewellery dealer named Zakir fro
Afghan Emerald, he found Indian market to be not so good about finished stones. He told people
here wanted cheap and good quality products and also the Indian market wanted unfinished stones
from him. My next vendor was a minni9ng company named “Afghanite Geo Minning” represented
by Shahabir, he basically wanted Indian companies to collaborate with his company and provide
them with technical knowledge in doing better business in Afghanistan. Lastly I had a very
interesting company named “Kabul Carpet Export Centre” represented by Steve, it’s basically a
USAID funded company from Afghanistan which dealt in some beautifully designed carpets. The
design & colour combinations in the carpets were really mesmerising. They were here mostly to
make B2B deals especially with the big hotels and resorts. All the vendors were really humble and
they were happy to share the details with us, though some of them couldn’t understand our
language but we both were able to understand each others’ emotion.

The second day we began taking the surveys a bit early so that we could complete our two round of
survey for the day comfortably and could gather as much information as possible. Most of my
vendors had already started making consumer sales and very satisfied and greatful to be a part of
this trade show. Some of them even started signing MOU’s i.e. B2B Deals. All this looked very
promising. Even our mentors appreciated our work and they were most of the time on the floor to
help us in every possible way be it in finding a vendor or even with the translations. We never felt
that we were performing a duty but we rather enjoyed our days there interacting with so many new
people everyday. Later in the evening there was a cultural show where we enjoyed some Afghani
music and dance show.

The last and final day of the trade show was very difficult for all of us emotionally as we were so
connected with our mentors and our vendors that we didn’t just wanted to apart. We began by
taking the surveys and later during the day we all did some shopping from them. I got many gifts
from all my vendors for which I’m thankful to them for being so kind and generous. We really didn’t
want the day to be over as we didn’t want to leave our USAID family. But eventually we had to finish
our final round of survey and even the vendors were also very emotional. We made some really
good friends during the event. Our mentors were also happy with our work and they appreciated
our efforts all through. Though goodbyes are hard but we eventually had to bid adieu to each other
with heavy hearts but with some really good memories to cherish all our lives.

We got to enhance our communication skills and got to network with some eminent personalities
which would help us grow in our career during the long run. We also learnt how to manage in
difficult times and how to come up with possible solutions on the spot. We also got to work in
groups which boosted our teamwork & collaborative skills. This event helped us boost our
interpersonal skills and also our confidence as we interacted with people from cross culture &
country. The whole experience was really great and full of learning which I would help me build my
personality more strong. Lastly would also like to thank JW Marriot for being such a good host to us
and also to the event, they took care of us & our palate very well with some interesting & mouth-
watering delicacies which we all enjoyed. I would love to be a part of the show again. Looking
forward to such opportunities in the near future. Thank you all.

Presented by:
Debalina Sen
Roll No- 19318
Section- Epsilon
Role- Data Collection Team
Mob No- 7548068948
Email id- deblinasen1991@gmail.com