2002

The Global Peace Initiative of Women convenes 700 women spiritual leaders at
the UN’s Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland to create a greater role for women in peacebuilding. A small group of businesswomen attend.

Ruder & Finn executives Anne Glauber and Millicent White Fortunoff, Maloney Group President Toni Maloney, Redken executive Ann Mincey, Citigroup executive Paige Churchman, and Eziba founder Amber Chand find common ground when the then UNIFEM Executive Director Noeleen Heyser tells of the plight of Rwanda genocide widows: “If you could just make a market for the beautiful baskets they weave, they would be able to feed their families and send their children to school.” And so the Rwanda Peace Basket project is born and so is The Business Council for Peace.

Bpeace grows as an international network of business professionals who volunteer to help women entrepreneurs in post-conflict countries expand their businesses, create employment and build a more peaceful future for their communities.

2003

Bpeace ships 30 refurbished computers to Kabul, Afghanistan. Microsoft donates Windows and Office software. The newly formed Afghan Women’s Business Council (AWBF) now has the tools to teach women a life-changing skill.

Eziba imports and sells hand-woven Peace Baskets made by Rwandan women widowed during the 1994 genocide. The project is featured in Marie Claire, CNN, and NPR and places more than $100,000 into the hands of the Rwandan basket weavers. The weavers are comprised of previously warring Hutu and Tutsi.

2004

Bpeace volunteers travel to Afghanistan and interview nearly 40 Afghan businesswomen and select 20 to be part of our three-year program; they are our first group of Associates. We set-up our Kabul office. We train 80 Afghan businesswomen selected by the Afghan Ministry of Commerce.

Bpeace volunteers travel to Israel and the Palestinian Territories. We shuttle between Israeli candle makers and Palestinian embroiderers to fashion collaboration. The Jerusalem Candle of Hope is launched and produces income generation for Palestinian and Russian Jewish women. The women artisans are not free to cross the checkpoint and meet face-to-face. This is not sustainable.

We facilitate the successful applications of five of our Associates into the two-week Artemis program for female Afghan entrepreneurs at Thunderbird in Phoenix.

Bpeace separates from the Global Peace Initiative of Women to form our own 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

2005

With some of New York’s top fashion designers and educators, the three-week Style Road Trip is a success. Twelve Afghan women entrepreneurs attend specially-tailored classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Bpeace volunteers travel to Rwanda to identify the Fast Runners--Rwandan businesswomen with already established businesses, ripe for acceleration with Bpeace assist. We open our office in Kigali, Rwanda.

2006

With the help of Bpeace volunteers, The Rangeen Kaman Artisans (RKA) cooperative store becomes a reality. For the first time in Afghanistan’s history, businesswomen pool their resources and create a cooperative store in Kabul.

Nineteen women become the first Rwandan Bpeace Associates in surprising businesses that include an amusement park, commercial landscaping, and freight forwarding.

The American Embassy in Baghdad helps us select eight Iraqi businesswomen for the Bpeace program. The conflict in Iraq escalates and our Associates are forced to leave Baghdad on a regular basis because of security issues.

Repeated efforts to communicate with our Associates are unsuccessful. Bpeace closes down the pilot project in Iraq.

2007

With $40,000 from Bpeace donors, a Bpeace Afghan entrepreneur starts construction on her Kabul pre-school for 150 children.

Regis becomes first Bpeace corporate sponsor to participate on a volunteer mission. They provide beauty salon vocational training to nearly 40 Rwandan hair stylists.

The first Bpeace Census reveals that women entrepreneurs in our program grow their businesses and employment at a much greater rate than the GDP of their countries.

2008

Bpeace creates a pop-up traveling virtual ad agency to create logos, brands, and marketing collateral for eight Rwandan businesswomen in our program.

Twelve Afghan businesswomen begin their life-changing trip to the US to apprentice on-the-job at American firms. The journey includes stays at more than 40 host companies. BART (Bpeace Apprentice Road Trip) is partially funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Citizen Exchanges, in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

2009

Twelve semi-finalists--six Afghan, six Rwandan--from Bpeace’s First Race to Innovation receive technical advice from U.S. experts in their industries.

In Rwanda, 14 Fast Runner entrepreneurs graduate from the Bpeace three-year program. They operate the kind of neighborhood businesses reflective of vibrant communities: beauty salons, restaurants, retail shops, landscaping, even an amusement park. Together they employ 286 people who contribute to the support of 1,462 family members.

Bpeace works with three independent Afghan soccer ball producers to unite them under one export brand in the U.S. A unique fusion of volunteers, corporate partners, and soccer leagues provide guidance to bring these balls to market in 2010.

Afghan women entrepreneurs receive pro-bono consulting from our program manager in Kabul and U.S. volunteers. They are among Afghanistan’s top businesswomen. The Afghan women are engaged in food processing, furniture manufacturing, radio broadcasting, fuel distribution, and soccer ball production.

Macy's started selling Peace Baskets in 2005, and officials say the deal generates between $300,000 and $400,000 a year. Source: CNN.

Kamela is one Bpeace’s original 20 entrepreneurs who have now “graduated.” Through her consulting firm, Kamela trains more than 300 Afghan men and women a year on how to start their own businesses. She is the subject of an upcoming book.

The Rangeen Kaman Artisans cooperative store founded in 2006 still operates, though sharply scaled back in Afghanistan’s less secure environment. The idea that a group of women would go outside of their families to partner with others was unheard of at the time.

Construction of Habiba’s Kabul pre-school is now complete and opened its doors in 2008 with 50 students immediately enrolled.

The 2007 pilot beauty salon training has evolved into Rwanda’s first Beauty Vocational School, scheduled to open its doors during the first-half of 2009.