Doing Business in Afghanistan The opportunities in Afghanistan are once-in-a-lifetime.

Even though there's still no electricity at Hassina Sherjan's new factory on the outskirts of Kabul, they really don't need it today. Sunlight pours through the large windows and illuminates a busy room, where 12 men and women are working on pillow coverings, curtains, place mats and other high-end textiles. They grin as Sherjan inspects their work: glittering lines of hand-applied beads on what will be a set of elegant table runners.

"I have to keep reinforcing the idea of quality," says Sherjan, president of Boumi Co. "We're producing for an upscale world market, so they have to understand a straight line is always straight and even a small stain on the fabric isn't acceptable."

All the workers are dressed in traditional Afghan clothes except Sherjan, whose Western clothes and uncovered head stand out. Hers is a look that's becoming more common in Afghanistan. The 46-year-old is one of the millions of Afghans who fled the country during nearly three decades of strife. Now, some are returning to start businesses, and they're finding that Afghanistan is an entrepreneur's dream.