Kamila Sidiqi is a prominent economic activist who has worked in leadership roles in various sectors in Afghanistan. She is the CEO and Founder of Kaweyan Group of Companies and has launched a number of path-breaking services in Afghanistan, such as the first women owned business consultancy firm (Kaweyan Business Development Services), the first women owned dried fruit export import company (Naweyan Nawed Ltd.), the first women owned cab services (Kaweyan Cabs), Afghanistan’s first Pink Taxi Service, and Afghanistan’s only women-owned petroleum company (Kaweyan Petroleum). From June 2017 to March 2019 she worked for the promotion of Afghan trade and commerce as the Deputy Minister for Commerce at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. From 2014-2017 she was the Deputy Chief of Staff for Admin and Finance in the Administrative Office of the President. For the past several years, she has been actively engaged in promoting gender issues, private sector development, transparency and anti-corruption in Afghanistan. Prior to joining the government, Kamila was a successful entrepreneur and was one the first businesswomen of Afghanistan. During her work in the private sector, she made groundbreaking achievements in various fields and received recognition across the globe for her endeavors in male dominated sectors. She is currently working to promote leadership and entrepreneurship skills among Afghan men and women as a business consultant and advisor.
In February 2017, Kamila represented Afghanistan as a key speaker in the AFPAK Partnership Summit: Workable Solutions in a New Era which was held in Mali. In 2015, Kamila was a keynote speaker at The Economist Magazine’s World in 2016 event in Hong Kong and Singapore. The year 2014 saw Kamila as a speaker at the Power of Empowered Women Event organized by the United Nations in Geneva. She was a speaker at Regional Policy Dialogue on Central Asia's Regional Challenges organized in Turkey by the Hollings Center and has represented Afghanistan's women entrepreneurs in several B2B conferences organized in India, Tajikistan. She was also a founding member of the Steering Committee of the South Asia Women Entrepreneurs Symposium (SAWES). She is one of the core founders of Leading Entrepreneurs of Afghanistan for Development (LEAD) which was established in 2013-14 and grew to become the Afghanistan Women’s Chambers of Commerce and Industries.
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana - a book chronicling the life and achievements of Kamila - has received international acclaim and was a New York Times Best Seller in 2012. It was a part of the Common Reading Program at University of Florida for the class of 2016.
Kamila has been recognized as a Peace Hero in Afghanistan in 2014 by Modern Organization for Education and Development. She was also part of The International Alliance of Women World of Difference awardees in 2014.
