Afghan immigrants launch St. Louis businesses, with a little help from the International Institute

By St. Louis Magazine

The 6,000 Afghans now settled here are opening restaurants, making garments, and starting new businesses.

By STL Magazine

The International Institute of St. Louis commemorated three milestones for the local Afghan community Friday, including the award of a $20,000 grant backed by local philanthropist Jerry Schlichter. The grant will support the Afghan-owned restaurant, Agrippa, set to open in the next two to three months.

Also celebrated Friday was a new cohort’s graduation from the International Institute’s sewing program, aimed at teaching Afghani women skills that could lead to new businesses and create new income streams for immigrant families. 

The Afghan Entrepreneurship Grant was given to Najibullah Stanakzai. His family came to St. Louis around a year ago, said his son Pazhwak, who spoke in English on his father’s behalf. The family first immigrated to Washington state. 

“Everything has been a great support and help and has made the resettlement easier for us, refugees and migrants, thank you,” Pazhwak said, translating his father’s remarks into English. The family also thanked the International Institute and other programs for helping them get settled in the U.S.

Now, they’re set to open their Afghan, Turkish, and American fusion restaurant on Manchester Road in Ballwin. The grant, Pazhwak said, will cover one of the more costly aspects of constructing a new restaurant: ventilation.

“The biggest expense a restaurant has is the hood and ductwork, it’s going to go towards that,” he said. “I have enough capital to cover the rest of the equipment, but the vent and the fire suppression system, it costs $15,000 to $20,000, depending on the size.”

That grant program, backed by Schlichter Bogard founder and co-managing partner Jerry Schlichter, has already bolstered businesses across a number of industries including automotive shop Raza Auto Repair, content creation firm Owlsion Pictures, Ferdous Lawn & Landscaping, and others.

The grants have also supported multiple clothing and jewelry companies, including Silk Road Boutique, Zeeb Design, and Asia Lebas Mahal, supporting Afghan entrepreneurs even while allowing others in the community local options for traditional clothing for holidays and events. The clothing stores offer a mix of locally-made and imported garments.

Importing clothing from Afghanistan is often costly, especially when people need them for one-off events, said Hamdullah Hamdard, a one-time grant program recipient and International Institute director of Afghan outreach. Importing heavy textiles that are only worn in Afghanistan can cost upwards of $1,000, he added.

To make it easier for people to make these garments stateside, and potentially spawn new women-owned businesses, the International Institute also has a 12-week sewing course. The idea is that Afghan families in the U.S. can introduce a second income stream. Many Afghan families here operate only on the income of the man, while women focus on childcare. Absent a high-paying job for the breadwinner, that can be unsustainable. The sewing course, which includes education on how to monetize those skills, can lead to further opportunities for entrepreneurship, while also remaining culturally relevant, said International Institute president and CEO Blake Hamilton. Learn more here