Part of the services provided through the EDUs involve technology promotion. The trainees are not considered to be beneficiaries, but rather business clients, ensuring the sustainability of the EDU network. Those who graduate from the training receive support with investments, business matchmaking and technology sourcing.Amina-Gaalooge Osman, a 34-year-old entrepreneur, started an agricultural cooperative that used manual labour. Thanks to UNIDO’s help in connecting her to local banks and to Somali-Italian business firms, today Osman sells tractors imported from Italy to Somalia’s farmers. It is the first time in recent history that the farming business in Somalia has gained access to such modern agricultural machinery ― vital in propelling the economy.“If you have the idea, they [UNIDO and the MoCI] will help you,” Osman says. “The real value comes when they connect you directly to international companies like the ones we are now dealing with. If you have an organization like UNIDO that can help you make that connection for you, that can help you with the credit facility, you have a way forward. You can basically make your dreams come true.”From aid to developmentBoth UNIDO and the MoCI are investing in Somalia’s more traditional agro-industrial sectors, which the country relies on to create jobs and expand economic opportunities. Their overarching goal is to help Somalia develop its business sector and thus shift away from a heavy reliance on international aid for temporary relief. The key for making this happen? Partnerships.“To me, aid is problematic. We have the land, we have the human capital, and we have the entrepreneurial spirit,” says Professor Halane. “Partnerships are the only way forward.”UNIDO’s Somalia Productive Sectors Development Programme promotes interventions at the macro, meso and micro levels of the Somali economy to promote infrastructure investment and capital investment, stimulate sustainable production, avoiding post-harvest losses, developing markets access for an inclusive economic growth and job opportunities for all.“The goal is to reinforce Somalia’s economic resilience while reducing the country’s vulnerability to shocks,” Scarcia said. “And we do this by stimulating economic growth and by developing Somali human capital.”The thousands of bees buzzing around Dhicis at his firm’s apiary are the result of that goal./UNIDO Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) may be of a point-in-time nature, edited for clarity, style and length. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s).View in full here.
This article was originally published by Mirage News.
