Tech entrepreneurs in Somalia are holding first ever summit in battle-scarred Mogadishu, attracting hundreds to talk about business and innovation in a city more used to conflict and suffering.
The three-day event that began Tuesday was conceived by a group of young Somalis to showcase the work of dozens of local companies: “This is an opportunity to change negative impressions of Somalia, to give an image other than that of war, chaos and starvation,” said Abdihakim Ainte, founder of Mogadishu’s iRise Hub and the event’s main organiser.
“Just like other technology summits in the world, it brings together technology entrepreneurs, students and government to discuss technology and economic development,” he said. Somalia collapsed into civil war in 1991 and since then has endured successive rounds of conflict involving clan-based militias, foreign armies and, latterly, Al-Qaeda affiliated jihadists the Al-Shabaab. While a succession of internationally-backed governments have failed to stem corruption or bring peace, Somali entrepreneurship has persisted and economic activity thrived, despite the absence of a functioning state.
Tech innovation is just the latest example, and Ainte said he hoped it might “play a role in rebuilding the country and its economy.” Despite the ambitious talk, fear of Shabaab militants meant the summit was held at a well-guarded hall close to the sprawling, fortified Mogadishu airport “Green Zone” that is home to the UN and aid agencies, foreign embassies and an African Union military force.
E-commerce startup Gulivery was among the companies showing their apps at the summit. Deeq Mohamed, a 30-year-old British-Somali who returned home and established the delivery company with his wife, said there were plenty of opportunities in providing services that are already familiar in more peaceful, prosperous places. Members of Somalia’s far-flung diaspora are well-placed to seize the moment.
“When we moved from London to Hargeisa (in breakaway Somaliland) we were looking for a delivery service provider, but we could not find one. We were not the only ones, so we decided to start a delivery company,” he said. After expanding to Mogadishu, Gulivery’s husband-and-wife team have their eyes on Djibouti and Ethiopia.
