Swedish Somali Business Programme

The current developments in Somalia and the renewed commitment from the international community to support Somalia on its path towards long-term peace and stable state-building have opened up new avenues for Sweden to engage with key drivers of change in the country. As highlighted in the Economic Recovery Plan, issues around job creation, economic growth and private sector development will lie at the heart of Somali recovery and reconstruction. Accordingly, the overall objective of the programme is to contribute to the long-term reconstruction of the conflict ridden society in Somalia through increased human security and improved livelihoods, while the specific objective of the intervention is employment creation and improved incomes for those economically active specifically for women and youth across the country. The programme is intended to be catalytic and engage the diaspora for the purpose of leveraging funds as well as transferring knowledge. With strong entrepreneurial propensities and cultural linkages to Somalia, the Somali diaspora in Sweden and elswhere can play an important part in developing businesses that can create jobs in Somalia. It is important to clarify that the programme does not only target the diaspora but Somali entrepreneurs in the country are also eligible for the programme. The programme employs a comprehensive approach that consists of four major components which are intended to complement each other: 1. A Capacity Development Facility (CDF) for interested entrepreneurs and potential grantees. the CDF will be divided into a general capacity development in business development as well as a tailor-made capacity development for grantees. 2. A Challenge Fund module that offers financing to entrepreneurs at an early stage of the business venture in order to enable them to explore opportunities and start up a business with potential for job creating opportunities. 3. Access to more capital support function which is intended to support grantees and interested entrepreneurs to access financing from other challenge funds or through Sida’s guarantee systems for larger finances. 4. A Scale up analysis module which is intended to collect and convey analysed market data into the New Deal/PSG4 policy level for improved policies that will contribute to enabling environment for business throughout the country. By combining these four components the programme puts in place the necessary prerequisites for successful and sustainable business creation and hence increased productive employment. The engagement of the diaspora will not only leverage funds and businesses but will also contribute to knowledge transfer in the long term. Furthermore, the data collected from the programme through its scale up analysis module will be expected to contribute to positive changes at the policy level and hopefully have bigger positive impact at the national level. The programme has identified opportunities in certain sectors which is believed could have potential to have wider impact on business growth and hence contribute to productive employment. These identified sectors are: Agriculture, fisheries, healthcare, ICT, renewable energy and water & sanitation. However, while projects of high quality from these sectors will be prioritized the bottom line of the programme still lies in the creation of productive employment in a sustainable manner within any given sector.