Ehsan Bayat

Born in Kabul, and coming of age during the dangerous era of the Soviet Union’s occupation of Afghanistan, Ehsan Bayat, Afghanistan’s preeminent Business Leader and Philanthropist, has worked tirelessly for nearly two decades to help build a prosperous, safe and free Afghanistan. Ehsanollah Bayat’s business, entrepreneurial and charitable accomplishments have helped establish entire sectors of the Afghan economy, such as Wireless Telephony, Commercial Broadcast Media, and Energy Development.

Ehsanollah Bayat is the Founder and Chairman of  The Bayat Group of Companies (www.bayat-group.com), comprising Afghan Wireless (www.afghan-wireless.com), the nation’s first wireless communications company, with over 5,000,000 business and individual subscribers, Bayat Energy (www.bayat-energy.com), Ariana Television and Radio (www.arianatelevision.com), Afghanistan’s largest media network, reaching 40 million Afghans worldwide. Together with additional operations within the Logistics, Internet Services, Security and Logistics sectors, the Bayat Group is Afghanistan’s largest private employer, providing jobs to over 100,000 people throughout Afghanistan.

The success of Ehsanollah Bayat’s business, social development and philanthropic initiatives have had a powerful and positive impact on the Afghan economy and most importantly, in the everyday lives of Afghan citizens. Ehsanollah Bayat and The Bayat Group have led the development of Afghanistan’s telecommunications infrastructure which connects Afghans with one another and to the world. The Bayat Group is spearheading Afghan-led energy exploration and power production which builds Afghanistan’s energy independence, and via Ariana Television and Radio, it champions the establishment of free and unbiased media which empowers and showcases Afghan arts and culture. The Bayat Foundation supports effective charitable and social development programs improving the quality of life for the youth, women, poor, and elderly of Afghanistan.

Ehsan Bayat and his wife, Mrs. Fatema Bayat, are the Co-Founders of the Bayat Foundation (www.bayatfoundation.org), Afghanistan’s largest chartable organization supporting Afghan health, education and social development. The Bayat Foundation, where Mr. Bayat serves as Chairman, has contributed to more than 300 projects dedicated to improving the quality of life for the youth, women, poor, and elderly of Afghanistan, including construction of 13 hospitals that have provided life saving treatment  to over 2,000,000 Afghans, including 1,500,000 mothers and babies.

Ehsanollah Bayat is a graduate of The New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he received a Bachelors of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering Technology. He is also the recipient of numerous awards and commendations, including The Mahatma Gandhi Humanitarian Award (2010), Sitara Magazine’s Man of The Year Award (2007), and the Afghanistan Human Rights Association’s National Human Rights Award (2006).