Grants no predictor of business success

Stars and Stripes ^ | 5/26/08 | John Vandiver

[Dawnsblood]

In an effort to spur businesses along at the grass-roots level, coalition forces have been offering up microgrants for businesses in areas where security is strong enough that more attention can be turned to economic development programs.

In the Dura’Iyah area, an effort also was made to incorporate female business owners into the initiative. While the numbers were small — only about five female-run shops were part of the project — the effort showcases what type of role soldiers are now playing in many rural zones free of the volatility and day-to-day threats encountered in places such as Sadr City.

Indeed, the soldiers working in the countryside sometimes seem engaged in work more associated with a Peace Corps volunteer than your stereotypical war fighter. Though commanders make the point that the security gains are fragile and reversible in such areas, the 50 calibers mounted on Humvees and weapon-at-the-ready soldiers almost feel out of place.

On a recent trip to Dura’Iyah — a rural community not far from the city limits of Salman Pak, southeast of Baghdad — Company A soldiers were following up on a project started by the unit that preceded them in the area. In the two months since the women received the grant money, the soldiers wanted to assess whether the investment has made a difference.

Microgrants tend to range somewhere between $500 and $1,000, a substantial sum in areas such as Dura’Iyah, where only four or five months ago people did business by barter and trade. There was no currency in the area at that time, soldiers said.