Ehsan Bayat is an experienced businessman and entrepreneur who has led companies in a number of different countries. Born in Kabul, he moved to the United States with his family in his youth. He founded and grew the Bayat Group into one of the largest private investors and employers in Afghanistan.
Today, Ehsan Bayat is a dedicated philanthropist. Together with his wife, Fatema, he created the Bayat Foundation, which pursues a wide range of humanitarian projects in Afghanistan. Since its founding more than 20 years ago, the foundation has provided aid after natural disasters; constructed schools and healthcare centers; supplied communities with clean drinking water and sanitation; and fed more than 10 million meals to hungry and displaced people.
In addition, the Bayat Foundation has built a dozen maternity hospitals throughout Afghanistan that together have cared for more than 3 million mothers and infants. The foundation also helped develop the Information Communications and Technology Center at the American University of Afghanistan and has supported other educational projects such as the Faryab Orphanage and Learning Center. In total, Bayat Foundation has undertaken or supported over a thousand humanitarian projects.
Ehsan Bayat’s work as a philanthropist has been recognized with a number of awards and commendations. He received the National Human Rights Award for Afghanistan from the Afghan American Chamber of Commerce, the Mahatma Gandhi Humanitarian Award from the Friends of the South Asian American Communities, and the Corporate Social Responsibility Award from the Canada-Afghanistan Business Council.
Recent Food Distribution Campaigns
Recent projects undertaken by the Bayat Foundation have sought to relieve suffering among the most at-risk and vulnerable families in Afghanistan, including households without regular income, daily wage laborers, and returnees. Economic hardship is widespread across the country, and families everywhere are dealing with increasingly expensive food prices and limited job opportunities. Humanitarian groups have warned that millions of Afghan families need assistance immediately.
During the holy month of Ramadan, the Bayat Foundation focused on the delivery of food and other essential supplies. The foundation’s Ramadan assistance packages included rice, flour, and cooking oil and were distributed to families living in poverty in Balkh, Ghazni, Farah, Herat, Jawzjan, Kabul, Laghman, and Maidan Wardak provinces.
These packages helped families in need make ends meet during the holy month, which is marked by fasting from sunrise to sunset, prayer, and charity. During Ramadan, many households face higher expenses—including those that are already struggling with poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity. The Bayat Foundation Ramadan assistance program provides support to thousands of families in the country each year.
One recipient in Farah stated, “Thanks to the Bayat Foundation for providing this aid to needy people in Farah Province during the blessed month of Ramadan.” Another recipient in Herat also expressed appreciation, saying, “These packages help us a lot. They cover our needs for at least a month. I hope this continues. We are poor people—we have nothing.”
Sayed Noor Ahmad Shah Sadat serves as the Bayat Foundation’s representative in Herat Province. As the month began, he was present for the food distribution campaign in that region, stating, “Today, on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, the Bayat Foundation provided assistance to deserving families…The goal of this program is to support poor families and help them meet their basic needs, especially during Ramadan.”
The Bayat Foundation also regularly provides food and supplies during the winters in Afghanistan, which are often bitterly cold and harsh. During the foundation’s Annual Winter Aid Drive, rice, flour, oil, and warm blankets were provided to 100 families in the 8th District of Kabul. Food and blankets were also provided to 100 families in Kabul’s 5th District, Jalalabad, and Bamiyan. In many cases, this aid provided much-needed sustenance for families that would otherwise have gone without.
Earlier, in fall 2025, the Bayat Foundation responded with emergency aid after large earthquakes struck eastern and northern Afghanistan, killing and injuring thousands. The foundation distributed food, clothing, tents, and essential supplies. In the aftermath of the August 31 quake, the foundation marshaled resources to send five airplanes packed with food and supplies to Kabul for distribution to the hardest-hit communities. The aid included specialized nutritional food packages to help millions of children at risk of malnutrition.
Founding Values
The Bayat Foundation was founded by Dr. Ehsan Bayat and Mrs. Fatema Bayat in 2005, with the goal of “improving living conditions for people across Afghanistan by providing food, clothing, orphan care, entrepreneurship programs, athletics, and much more.” The foundation provides aid to families, orphans, and individuals in Afghanistan regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, or religion.
It partners with both public and private entities to ensure that much-needed assistance makes its way to impoverished people throughout the country. The foundation hosted the first Afghan Symposium for Humanitarian and Leadership Engagement in 2009 in Washington, DC, which included 125 attendees from the United States, Canada, and Afghanistan.
To learn more about the Bayat Foundation, its recent projects, and how you can support them, go to bayatfoundation.org.
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