The Peace Through Business program provides women from Rwanda and Afghanistan with the essential skills they need to unleash their entrepreneurial potential. Karel Ford directs the mentorship side with the initiative, pairing up U.S.-based business leaders with women who are launching and building businesses, often in challenging and sometimes dangerous, circumstances.

Ford describes how the women who enter the program thrive, building stronger partnerships with their American counterparts and expanding their networks in their home countries. Graduates have embraced challenges such as helping women arrested for selling their goods on the street by taking them under their wing to build legitimate businesses. She is continually inspired by how they are transforming their world.