Afghanistan Center for Excellence (ACE)

Name

Afghanistan Center for Excellence (ACE)

Legal name

Afghanistan Center for Excellence

Website

https://ace.af

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Management Consulting and Professional Services

NAICS

Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

DEI, Equity & Inclusion Advisory (BPACAJAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) & Belonging Consulting (BPAHAGAJ)

Keywords

• Management consulting services
• Capacity building training
• Women's economic empowerment
• Returnee reintegration support
• Skills development programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Kabul, Kabul

HQ country

Afghanistan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Services and Consulting: ACE provides bespoke consulting and training services to SMEs, corporations, government agencies, NGOs, and UN agencies. Revenue is generated through project-based engagements for assessment, transformation, empowerment, and compliance services.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ACE is a Kabul-based consultancy delivering bespoke professional services across four pillars: Assess (impact evaluations and organizational assessments), Transform (business training, skills development, and organizational change), Empower (workforce development, employment services, and economic empowerment for women, youth, returnees, and IDPs), and Comply (regulatory and compliance advisory). Services are delivered as project-based engagements to SMEs, large corporations, Afghan government agencies, NGOs, and UN agencies, with dedicated programs including the "Empowering the Other Half" women's empowerment initiative and HR solutions such as co-employment of call center agents.

Product overview

Afghanistan Center for Excellence (ACE) is a consulting and professional services organization offering a unified portfolio of Assess, Transform, Empower, and Comply services. The company provides bespoke services for SMEs, large corporations, Afghan Government agencies, NGOs, and UN agencies, with specific focus on women, youth, returnees, and IDPs. Key offerings include skills assessment and training programs, employment and internship placement services, women's empowerment initiatives like the 'Empowering the Other Half' program, HR solutions, business training for returnees, and policy research. ACE also supports the startup ecosystem through programs like Get in the Ring Kabul and conducts research assessments on economic topics affecting Afghanistan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Assess Assessment services for evaluating business impact, skills gaps, and organizational performance for diverse clients including government agencies, NGOs, and private sector entities in Afghanistan.
• Transform Transformation services including business training, skills development, and organizational change management programs for clients seeking to build capacity.
• Empower Empowerment services focused on workforce development, employment services, and economic opportunity creation for women, youth, and vulnerable populations in Afghanistan.
• Comply Compliance and advisory services helping organizations operating in Afghanistan meet regulatory requirements and standards.
• Empowering the Other Half Women's economic empowerment program offering recruitment, skills development, internship placement, and mentorship services for female job seekers and graduates in Afghanistan; includes the eight-month UN Women training and internship program that trained 50 female graduates with over 50% receiving permanent jobs.
• HR Solutions Services End-to-end HR services including co-employment of call center agents and HR advisory for organizations operating in Afghanistan; past experience includes co-employment of 250 Call Center Agents for Etisalat Afghanistan for over 3 years and HR services to 16 FTE for UNODC Alternative Development project across 13 provinces.
• Innovative Business Training for Returnees Innovative business training program within the Sustainable Reintegration in Afghanistan project for ERRIN returnees, producing measured business knowledge gains of 37-43 percentage points and causing 29 of 33 participants to change their existing business plans.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,973 Afghan returnees provided with reintegration support
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ERRIN-Swedish Migration AgencycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2020Partnership for Sustainable Reintegration in Afghanistan project. ACE conducted innovative business training sessions for ERRIN returnees as part of the ERRIN network.
• International Trade Centre (ITC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACE subsidiary WeBrand produced a National Export Strategy video for ITC documenting Afghanistan's journey to export competitiveness. ACE works with ITC under EU-funded Advancing Afghan Trade (AAT) project supporting SEEN network.
• Danish Ministry of Immigration & IntegrationcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerACE delivers trustworthy reintegration services for Danish returnees, providing individual assistance for self-sufficiency in Afghanistan.
• Internet Governance Forum Afghanistan (IGFA)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerACE provided support for IGFA 2017 event.
• IDLO (International Development Law Organization)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerACE delivered a three-day report writing training to member organizations of Afghanistan Legal Aid & Advocates Network (ALAAN) supported by IDLO.
• Roshan ConnectscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPrimary sponsor and partner for Get in the Ring Kabul 2018 startup competition. ACE partnered with Roshan Connects to launch the unique global startup competition platform in Afghanistan.
• Synergy Solutions AfghanistanminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-sponsor for Get in the Ring Kabul 2018 event.
• Get in the Ring (Global Platform)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal startup competition platform partnered with ACE to bring Get in the Ring to Kabul. First event held on 29 March 2018 with 8 startup ideas competing.
• Startups and Emerging Entrepreneurs Network (SEEN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACE's Managing Partner Suleman Fatimie is founding member of SEEN, a Kabul-headquartered network for advocacy and support of startups and SMEs. ITC supports SEEN under AAT project.
• UNDPcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerJoint efforts with Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs under SALAM job creation project providing employment to 200 returnees, IDPs, and host community members in Nangarhar province since 2018.
• Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MoLSA)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerJoint implementation of SALAM job creation project with UNDP and ACE for employment of returnees, IDPs, and host community members.
• UN WomencoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerACE administered an eight-month training and internship program for UN Women which trained 50 female graduates with focus on personal development, business management, and employability.
• UNODCminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerACE provides end-to-end HR services to 16 FTE for UNODC Alternative Development project in 13 provinces.
• Etisalat Telecommunication Company-AfghanistanminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerACE has past experience of co-employment of 250 Call Center Agents (CCAs) for Etisalat for more than 3 years.
• Advanced Accounting LLC and Institute of Business Studies (IBS)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerLead organizers of HR Champions Conference where ACE served as Event Partner. Awarded shield of appreciation to ACE.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/afghanistan-center-for-excellence

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Afghanistan Center for Excellence (ACE)