Afghanistan is made up of 34 provinces, each shaped by its own geography, history, communities and connections. Scroll through the country province by province as the Shakmah symbol forms one blade at a time.
01of 34
Northeast
Badakhshan
Capital · Fayzabad
Afghanistan’s far northeast reaches from the Kokcha valleys into the Wakhan Corridor and the Pamirs — a landscape of high mountains, river valleys and historic routes into Central Asia.
Province 01 / 34
34 provinces. One country. One shared future.
Shakmah Group works across the questions that shape Afghanistan today, the capabilities that must be built next, and the national future that should be ready when opportunity comes.
An Afghan-led institution built to move important issues from concern to consequence.
We work where rights, education, economic opportunity, public capability and Afghanistan’s relationship with the world require more than commentary. We bring Afghan experience, evidence, institutions and partners together around outcomes that can be pursued, measured and sustained.
Afghan-ledAfghan priorities and expertise remain at the centre of the work.
IndependentOur positions and priorities are not set by political factions or funding opportunities.
SelectiveWe focus on a small number of consequential outcomes instead of trying to cover everything.
Outcome-focusedWe judge progress by what changes — not by meetings, reports or visibility alone.
Purpose · mission · vision
Clear about why we exist.
Shakmah Group is designed for the long term: responsive to Afghanistan’s present realities without allowing those realities to define the country’s future.
Our purpose
Strengthen freedom, capability, opportunity and prosperity.
We exist to widen the ability of Afghans to learn, work, build, participate and prosper — while contributing to the long-term strength and readiness of Afghanistan.
Our mission
Connect Afghan priorities to the knowledge, influence and partnerships that can move them.
We frame important issues clearly, ground them in evidence and Afghan experience, bring the right institutions together, build a practical route to action and stay involved until the outcome is clear.
Our vision
An Afghanistan known for capability rather than permanent crisis.
We envision a country where rights are secure, women and girls participate fully, young people can build meaningful futures, enterprise and investment create prosperity, institutions serve competently and Afghanistan engages the world with confidence and capability.
What we do
Six areas where progress strengthens the whole country.
These areas are connected. Education affects employment. Economic opportunity depends on institutions. International relationships matter when they open real pathways. Long-term readiness depends on all of them.
01
Rights, dignity & equal participation
Advance the ability of Afghans to learn, work, participate in public life and live with dignity. This includes both formal rights and practical access to opportunity.
Strengthen the path from learning to qualifications, professional growth and meaningful work — while connecting Afghan knowledge at home and across the diaspora.
Help expand productive opportunity through entrepreneurship, SMEs, trade, finance, investment, market access and the infrastructure that allows businesses to grow.
Support the knowledge and professional capacity required for effective institutions and essential systems — from public policy and justice to healthcare, water, energy and infrastructure.
Public policy · justice · health · water · energy · resilient systems
05
Afghanistan & the world
Turn international relationships into practical value for Afghanistan: policy cooperation, education pathways, trade, investment, research, technology and institutional partnerships.
Governments · international institutions · universities · business · diaspora
06
Foresight & future readiness
Prepare for the issues Afghanistan will need to solve before they become urgent — including future education, economic transformation, technology and AI, water, climate, cities and regional connectivity.
Women and girls are part of every area of our work.
Education, employment, economic agency, dignity and participation are not treated as a temporary programme. The commitment runs through the whole institution — from education and enterprise to justice, policy and future leadership.
Every major issue is considered across three horizons so urgent work does not become short-sighted and future thinking does not become detached from people’s lives today.
01
What can change now?
Present
Protect rights, unlock immediate opportunity, influence decisions and respond to urgent constraints affecting people today.
02
What can we build now?
Next
Build skills, jobs, enterprise, networks, partnerships and capability that remain valuable even when political conditions move slowly.
03
What must be ready later?
Future
Prepare the knowledge, institutions, economic pathways and national capability Afghanistan will need when new possibilities open.
How we work
A disciplined route from issue to outcome.
We do not begin with a preferred format. We begin with the result that matters, then choose the lightest and most credible way to move it.
01
Define
State the outcome clearly and identify the constraint preventing progress.
02
Ground
Bring together Afghan experience, credible evidence and the context needed to understand the issue properly.
03
Align
Identify who holds the relevant knowledge, authority, capital, access or delivery capacity.
04
Act
Use policy work, diplomacy, convening, partnership or a practical initiative — whichever route fits the outcome.
05
Verify
Follow through, track commitments and report what actually changed.
We do not create activity for its own sake.
A meeting should have a purpose and a next owner. A publication should have a decision audience. A partnership should have a defined role. A public claim should be evidence-based. If another organisation is better placed to deliver, we should work with them rather than duplicate them.
Focused priorities
Broad purpose. Selective action.
3–5
Shakmah Group is designed to concentrate its full attention on only a small number of priority outcomes at a time. We choose priorities because they matter, because we can add something distinctive, and because there is a realistic route from engagement to progress.
MaterialityDoes it matter substantially to Afghan lives or national capability?
AdditionalityCan Shakmah Group add something that is not already being done effectively?
LeverageIs there a decision-maker, institution, market or partner that can move the outcome?
FeasibilityIs there a credible route to progress within a defined period?
SafetyCan the work be pursued without exposing people to unacceptable risk?
MeasurementCan success or failure be described honestly?
Who we work with
The right outcome usually requires more than one kind of institution.
Our role is to connect capabilities without pretending to replace them.
Afghan
Communities, professionals, educators, civil society and businesses
They bring lived experience, expertise, legitimacy, local knowledge and the practical understanding needed to define what is actually useful.
Knowledge
Universities, researchers, think tanks and specialists
They strengthen evidence, methods, qualifications, research quality and independent review.
Institutional
Governments and international institutions
They can influence policy, open pathways, provide technical cooperation, finance programmes and bring work to scale.
Economic
Companies, investors, financial institutions and diaspora businesses
They can create jobs, markets, capital, technology, supply chains and durable commercial opportunity.
Access is not the objective. The objective is to turn relationships into decisions, partnerships and opportunity.
What success means
Progress should be visible in the outcome.
We want to be judged by whether our involvement helped move something that mattered — not by the volume of activity around it.
01
Decisions influenced
Policy positions, institutional decisions or practical choices materially move.
02
Opportunities opened
Education, employment, business or professional pathways become available to Afghans.
03
Resources mobilised
Funding, investment, expertise or other resources move toward a defined Afghan outcome.
04
Partnerships implemented
Commitments move beyond announcements into action, delivery or sustained cooperation.
05
Capability strengthened
Afghan expertise, institutional knowledge, professional networks or systems become stronger for future use.
06
Lessons reported
When an important effort does not succeed, the reasons are understood and reported rather than hidden.
What changed — and what evidence shows we contributed?That is the question every serious piece of work should ultimately answer.
Contact
Get in touch with Shakmah Group.
For enquiries, collaboration, partnerships, research, media or general correspondence, please use the form below.
