Sanzar Kakar

Sanzar Kakar is an Afghan-American entrepreneur and business leader. Kakar is the Chairman of AHG, an international professional business services firm.[1][2][3]

Sanzar Kakar
Born
Seattle, Washington, US
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania
Warwick Business School
OccupationEntrepreneur
Years active2009–present

Early life

Kakar was born in Seattle, Washington, the son of Dr. Faizullah Kakar.[4] Kakar grew up in Peshawar, Pakistan where his family assisted with Afghan war relief efforts.[5] His father was the Chancellor of the Islamic University of Afghanistan and founded the Research and Advisory Council of Afghanistan.[6]

During President Karzai's administration, Kakar's father served as the Deputy Minister of Public Health for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan[7] and was then appointed as the Minister Adviser to the President for Health and Education.[8][9] Kakar's mother served as a Senior Medical Officer for the World Health Organization in Afghanistan and Pakistan until her retirement in 2013. Dr. Faizullah Kakar retired in early 2020.

Education

Kakar attended elementary school at Beaconhouse Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan; middle school at Moundridge Middle School in Moundridge, Kansas; and high school at International School of Islamabad in Islamabad, Pakistan.[5] Kakar participated or organized a number of Model United Nations conferences around the world, including in Kabul, Beijing, The Hague, Montreal, Washington, Berkeley and Sharm-e-Sheikh.

Kakar graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, majoring in Computer Science Engineering and minoring in Economics.[10] Kakar worked in New Jersey and New York before moving to Kabul, Afghanistan. Kakar also completed a master's program at Warwick Business School, University of Warwick in Coventry, United Kingdom, graduating with a Master of Business Administration, focusing on entrepreneurship and finance.[5][11]

Career

Kakar started with Merrill Lynch working as a Technology Analyst to develop software to automatically link to the New York Stock Exchange. In 2006, Kakar moved to Afghanistan to serve as the Investment Associate and then Country Director for Acap Partners, venture capital fund. In 2007, Kakar was appointed as the Executive Advisor to the Attorney General on the United States Department of State funded Afghanistan Justice Sector Support Program. Kakar worked to reorganize the Attorney General's Office and created a criminal case management system spanning seven justice institutions in Afghanistan.[12] In late 2008, Kakar served as the Economic Adviser and then Deputy Team Leader for the United Kingdom Department for International Development funded Afghanistan Investment Climate Facility, where he developed operational and fiduciary requirements for the £60 million grant fund.[13]

In 2009, Kakar founded Afghanistan Financial Services,[14] which primarily provided taxation services to U.S. Government contractors.[15][16][17][18] The firm was featured on BBC News with John Simpson.[19] In 2013, the firm re-branded as Afghanistan Holding Group as it expanded into auditing, research, training and legal services. Kakar was featured in 2019 on the cover of Afghanistan's business magazine, Business DNA.

Kakar has spoken about the need for formal financial markets in Afghanistan,[1][20][21] including at the American University of Afghanistan and at TEDx Kabul 2014.[22][23] A feasibility study for capital markets was supported by the United States Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO). Kakar has spoken about the business environment in Afghanistan, including once on National Public Radio with Tom Ashbrook[24] and at TEDx Kabul 2016.[25] Kakar is an advocate for increasing foreign direct investment to Afghanistan, calling for more stability and predictability in the regulatory environment.[26][27][28]

Between 2015 and 2020, Kakar launched nine additional companies, including Mezan Ltd,[29] Warzish Ltd,[30] Zinzir Ltd,[31] Afghanet Ltd[32] and acquired BusinessDNA Magazine.[33] In 2020, his accountancy company joined as a full member firm of Moore Global.[34] Moore Global is a network of 30,000 professionals across 260 independent firms working in more than 100 countries.[35] Kakar spoke at TEDx about his goal to combine these ventures to dramatically increase employment in Afghanistan.[36]

Community Service
  • Code Weekend
  • Startup Valley
  • Startup Weekend[37]
  • Startup Grind[38]
  • Afghanistan Business Summit[39]
  • Founder Institute[40]
  • Rise Afghanistan[41]
  • Business Integrity Network Afghanistan
  • American Chamber of Commerce in Afghanistan[42]

Articles
  • For Afghanistan Compliance Requirements"[43]
  • For Afghanistan Investment and Business Guide"[44]
  • For Doing Business in Afghanistan[45][46]
  • For American Bar Association[47]
  • For Afghan Zariza Articles[48][49]
  • For ACCA Magazine[50]
  • For American Business Council Dubai[51]

References
  1. Correspondent, Wadsam. "Stock Exchange in Kabul". Wadsam Afghan Business News. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  2. Sharifi, Arian (8 August 2013). "How to improve US aid delivery". The Hill. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  3. "Afghanistan Representative". World Summit Awards. United Nations. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  4. Erek, Bruns V. "Dr. Faizullah Kakar". Afghan Bios. Afghan Bios. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  5. Kakar, Sanzar (25 August 2016). "Doing Business in South Asia: A Conversation by the Penn South Asia Center on behalf of Current Penn Undergraduates". South Asia Center. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  6. List of Publications Authored by Dr. Faizullah Kakar. PubFacts. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
  7. "Afghan Deputy Public Health Minister". Getty Images. Getty Images. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  8. DuBose, Ramona (12 October 2011). "Afghan Minister Visits UNC to Discuss Global Health Issues". UNC Global. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  9. Stancati, Margherita (7 July 2014). "Afghan Taliban Bans Polio Vaccination in Southern Province". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  10. Zheng, Cici. "Screening depicts lives of young Afghan refugees". The Daily Pennsylvanian. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  11. Kakar, Sanzar (25 August 2016). "Full Transcript of Doing Business in South Asia: A Conversation by the Penn South Asia Center on behalf of Current Penn Undergraduates" (PDF). South Asia Center. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  12. "Rule of Law Conference in Nangarhar". 4th Brigade 4th Infantry Division. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  13. "American Conference Institute Speaker Biography". American Conference Institute. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  14. "Sanzar Kakar". Tax Professionals. Tax Connections. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  15. "Afghanistan 2014 and Beyond" (PDF). Rebuild Afghanistan Summit. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  16. "Contingency Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan" (PDF). American Conference Institute. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  17. "Contracting in Afghanistan-Overcoming Challenges and Seizing Opportunities". Afghan American Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  18. "Afghan Taxes, Business Registration and Cost Recovery - A Step by Step Guide". Federal Publications Seminars. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  19. Simpson, John. "Afghanistan: Will the Taliban take over again?". BBC News. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  20. Mashal, Mujib. "Has the Time Come for a Kabul Stock Exchange?". TIME Magazine. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  21. Al Sayegh, Hadeel. "Kabul plans a stock market 'free zone'". The National. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  22. "TEDx Kabul: Dream Again". TED. TED. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  23. Kakar, Sanzar. "Why Afghanistan Needs an Exchange Now". TEDx Kabul. TEDx. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  24. Ashbrook, Tom. "Afghanistan After Karzai". NPR. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  25. Kakar, Sanzar. "How to Heal the Afghan Economy Now". TEDx Kabul. TEDx. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  26. Alexander, Cornwell. "UAE government to support companies expanding into new markets". Gulf News. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  27. Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in a More Transparent World. World Bank. 18 October 2011. ISBN 9780821388341. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  28. Cusack, Jake. "Bactrian Gold: Challenges and Hope for Private-Sector Development in Afghanistan" (PDF). Kauffman Foundation Research Series (February 2011). Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  29. "Mezan International School". Mezan International School. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  30. "F45 Training". F45 Training. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  31. "Zinzir Ltd". Zinzir Ltd. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  32. "Afghanet Ltd". Afghanet Ltd. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  33. "BusinessDNA Magazine". BusinessDNA Magazine. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  34. "Moore Afghanistan". Moore Afghanistan. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  35. "Moore Global". Moore Global. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  36. Kakar, Sanzar. "How to create 600,000 jobs in 6 months". TEDx. TEDx. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  37. "Startup Weekend Kabul". Techstars. Techstars. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  38. "Sanzar Kakar at Startup Grind". Startup Grind. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  39. "Our Esteemed Speakers". Afghanistan Business Summit. Afghanistan Business Summit. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  40. "Kabul Mentors". Founder Institute. Founder Institute. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  41. "Rise Afghanistan Team". Rise Afghanistan. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  42. "American Chamber of Commerce in Afghanistan". AmCham. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  43. Kakar, Sanzar. "Afghanistan Compliance". Scribd. Afghanistan Holding Group. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  44. Kakar, Sanzar (11 September 2015). Afghanistan Investment and Business Guide. Google. IBP, Inc. ISBN 9781514528921. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  45. Kakar, Sanzar (24 October 2014). Doing Business 2015: Afghanistan. World Bank. World Bank Publications. ISBN 9781464803529. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  46. Kakar, Sanzar. "Doing Business 2012: Afghanistan". World Bank. World Bank Publications. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  47. "Battle Space and Contingency Procurements". American Bar Association. American Bar Association. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  48. Zeland, Sayar. "Financial Audits Lend Credibility to Companies" (July 2014 Issue). Afghan Zariza. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  49. Correspondent, Zariza. "AHG establishes communication hubs at ACCI to give fillip to business activity in Afghanistan". Afghan Zariza. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  50. "Profits are to be made in failed states but at what cost?". ACCA Global. ACCA Global. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  51. "Spotlight on Afghanistan" (PDF). American Business Council Dubai. ABC Dubai. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
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