Editorial

It is widely acknowledged that the solutions to Somalia’s instability must come from within Somalia, and the phrase ‘local ownership’ has become a ubiquitous buzzword in the Somalia aid community.  Yet more often than not, the key organisations and leaders that manage development funds are internationals or diaspora.  While there is little question of the important roles that international organisations play and will continue to play in Somalia, there is a challenge to find and nurture Somali-led and Somali-owned entities to set the agenda.

That is why, in addition to its objectives of supporting local governance and reducing conflict, the Somalia Stability Fund is charged with supporting and developing Somali organisations.  Back in January this year, the Stability Fund started the search for capable Somali organisations, with strong people and good ideas that we could support.  We targeted our search around two areas: organisations supporting economic opportunities for young people, and the private sector.  Some 200 applications and months of shortlisting, selecting, negotiating and supporting later, we have selected four successful investments.  In our first newsletter, we’re proud to showcase two of these investments: Somali Green Initiatives & Technology and the Center for Education and Development.

Of course the Stability Fund itself has significant international and diaspora staff within its ranks.  But, we now have a strong permanent presence in Mogadishu, Baidoa and Garowe, and over the last month have travelled the length and breadth of the country from Sanaag in the north to Lower Jubba in the south, in addition to over a dozen paces in between.  We will continue to expand our coverage  and the number of Somali organisations we support.

Ivan Parks
Stability Fund Director

Danwadaag provides a new beginning

A quiet night in the streets of Baidoa ended in turmoil as a huge fire in Baidoa market engulfed numerous stalls and a warehouse. The fire consumed property and stock worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, rendering hitherto low and middle income families destitute. Hundreds of town residents battled the raging fire over three hours but salvaged almost nothing.

Lishwa Nurow Adan, a mother of eight children lost her stock of over $4,700 as well as $14,400 in cash that she kept in the store. “I stopped trusting the bank, when people were cut off from their own money and  Al Barakat bank’s activities was frozen, that is why I kept my money in the shop’’.

Ibrahim Issaaq, married to two wives with ten children, sold shoes, mainly women’s, but also stocked children’s and men’s shoes at the market. “I take over $2,000 worth of shoes from wholesale suppliers on credit, sell the shoes at a profit and pay my supplier’’. He lost his entire stock.

Danwadaag, which means 'common interest sharing', is a community driven development initiative designed to enhance stability and boost recovery in Baidoa. The initiative is led by a task force elected from the community, and supported by Danish Demining Group and the Stability Fund. Though the initiative is aimed at longer-term development activities, understanding the need to take account of immediate needs in the wake of the fire, and in the Danwadaag spirit, the task force held several meetings with the local authorities and the business community to consider ways to assist the affected traders.  A committee of nine members, comprising representatives from the local authority, business community, religious leaders and victims agreed to raise funds from the local community. The community contributed over $33,000 to which the Danwadaag initiative added a further $72,000.

Lisha Nurow Adan received $3,500 USD as cash grant. It did not cover all her losses, but she is optimistic that she can rebuild her humble business. “It has taken me over 12 years to establish the business I lost to the fire, but I can start again.”

 “It is the first time since the fire disaster that I managed to smile“, said Ibrahim Issaaq who also received a cash grant.  His biggest worry was how to pay his creditors. “Now with this amount I can take it to the suppliers and they will lend me shoes worth double the amount.’’

The Stability Fund and Danish Demining Group are committed to enabling the community-led Danwadaag initiative to continue to press ahead with its effort to bring long-term sustainable change, but without losing sight of unforeseen, immediate priorities that come with accidents and natural disasters.

Center for Education and Development

The Center for Education and Development (CED) is a Somali organization that has been working in Somalia since 1992. Based in Mogadishu, CED has branches in the various regions across Somalia.  The organization has promoted sustainable livelihoods through developing and implementing forward-thinking policies in education and community-led-development.

CED has an active and productive partnership with various stakeholders, including the Federal Government, community representatives, local authorities, private institutions and the youth. The organization is currently implementing the Community and Youth Based Economic Recovery and Stabilization (CYBERS) project in newly-liberated areas in Middle Shabelle region.

CYBERS aims to build practical capacity for the youth to generate incomes, centering on agricultural value chains and rural enterprise development skills. Individual skills development activities will be supplemented by provision of business development services, establishment of farming cooperatives and rehabilitation of key public infrastructure assets – canals, feeder roads, water wells and markets.

Through an innovative NGO-private sector collaboration with Somali Green Initiatives & Technology (SOMGIT), CED will support the implementation of SOMGIT’s lease-to-own drip irrigation scheme in the Middle Shabelle region. This enables CED to connect young people to new farming methods, whilst utilizing its close links with the local community to help Mogadishu-based SOMGIT establish trust with its future customers.

With a mix of immediate infrastructure rehabilitation work and farming skills development, the CYBERS program will create short-term employment whilst enhancing local capacity for longer-term, sustainable livelihoods and job creation. The program is also designed to engage youth in the upgrading of public infrastructure assets and in conflict resolution mechanisms to support stabilization and peace building in Middle Shabelle.

The Stability Fund is delighted to be working with CED to help communities in Middle Shabelle to rejuvenate public infrastructure and create new livelihoods via a youth-led development programme. The Fund is also working with CED to improve its financial and other risk management systems in order to assist the organization in attracting more direct funding from donors, instead of relying on sub-contracts from INGOs.

Somali Green Initiatives & Technology

Somali Green Initiatives & Technology (SOMGIT) is a private company based in Mogadishu, Somalia. Founded by Somali professionals, SOMGIT provides innovative drip irrigation systems, greenhouse farming solutions, agro-inputs, and marketing services to farmers in South Central Somalia.

Somali farmers, especially those without access to the traditional flood irrigation systems, rely  on rain-fed agriculture thereby limiting crop production to the rainy season. A delay or lack of rain means potential crop failure.

Access to efficient and reliable irrigation can bring about a step-change in agricultural production and income generation. It provides the farmers with a second cropping season, or even year-round production, liberating farmers from the vagaries of the rainy season. Furthermore, farmers are able to cultivate fruits, vegetables, and other higher-value crops that require consistent water supply. Drip irrigation systems also deliver nutrients, as well as water, directly to the individual plant, reducing the growth of weeds nearby.

SOMGIT’s agro solutions, which include solar-powered water pumps, provide a proven water-conserving, energy-saving and cost-effective system. For example, SOMGIT’s approach yields water savings of over 80% compared to traditional surface irrigation systems.

SOMGIT also has the capacity to develop water resource supplies to farmers, including the drilling of boreholes and development of ponds for farmers to store and channel water. With a reliable water supply in place, SOMGIT delivers drip irrigation equipment, high-quality seeds, fertilizers, and other inputs together with agronomical training and guidance on all aspects of planting, input application, and other farm functions. All equipment and agro-inputs are supplied to the farmers up-front and are subsequently paid for from crop revenues in accordance with a Sharia-compliant lease-to-own scheme.

The Stability Fund is proud to be a partner of innovative Somali businesses like SOMGIT and, in addition to our financial investment, we are providing technical assistance to strengthen its internal financial and management systems in order to prepare the company for future rounds of funding from new investors.

Drop the gun, pick up the coffee

Libah-Har village stands alone in the desert, speckled with tiny huts made from sticks, mud and plant fibre. Goats, camels and sheep graze on dry, brown grass. Life in Libah-Har is confined and entirely dependent on livestock. It does not have a secondary school, healthcare center and other basic human needs to educate nor heal its more than 500 residents. Resources are scarce and conflict over land, water and charcoal continues to destabilize the entire region.

Over 60% of Libah-Har’s population are youths desperate for education and opportunity. Unemployed youths affected by the protracted violent conflict often fall into a life of crime, and those that don’t get involved in crime stay hopeless at home.

Abdiweli was armed as a child. After finishing primary school he turned to crime, working as a footsoldier at illegal checkpoints in Qardho district, northeast Puntland. Recognising an urgent need to give disconnected Somali youth economic opportunities , just over 1,000 youth were engaged through local partner. Of these, more than 800 have received vocational training, with the top performing students receiving small grants to start micro-enterprises and a further 400 participating in an internship programme with small businesses in Puntland.

Abdiweli was one of the recipients, he was offered a grant to start a coffee and confectionary shop. Over 60 people buy coffee from his shop each evening. He is now focused on making his business a success, where he has now enrolled in school to learn business management skills.  With the youth unemployment rate in Somalia amongst the highest in the world, what the youth here lack are investment, resources and opportunity. As Abdiweli proves, an investment targeting youths can go a long way in supporting peace and stability in Somalia.

The Stability Fund, working with CESVI, appreciates the opportunity given by the residents of Libah-Har to work with the youth in the local area to create jobs and businesses. The initiative was recently extended to support additional follow-up activities to help translate skills development into real employment.