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STORY: Hundreds gather for Somalia’s first-ever technology

summit
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CREDIT REQUIRED: UNSOM PUBLIC INFORMATION
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH NATURAL SOUND
DATELINE: 25/OCTOBER/2018, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

SHOT LIST:

1. Pan shot, participants attending the 2018 Mogadishu Tech summit


2. Med shot, Abdullahi Hamud, the Federal State Minister in the Office of the Prime
Minister speaking at the summit
3. Close up shot, youths attending the summit
4. Close up shot, a participant listening
5. Med shot, participants at the summit
6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Abdullahi Hamud, Federal State Minister in the Office of
the Prime Minister
“Part of the commitment of the Office of the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister
himself, to this city and Somalia in general, is to create an enabling environment that
can attract investment from global investors and make Somalia the final destination
for tourists and investors. Although not at satisfactory level as yet, the progress we
have made so far is remarkably encouraging.”

7. Med shot, Minister Abdullahi Hamud speaking at tthe summit


8. Wide shot, participants attending the summit
9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Marc Boyd, Programme Coordinator for the International
Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Somalia
This summit has given voice to the Somali Diaspora by building bridges among the
country and society. Diaspora members are a natural development enabler. Their
talents are immense and varied. Let’s harness their capability for good.”

10. Wide shot, Awil Osman, Co-founder and CEO of iRise Hub moderating a session
at the summit
11. Med shot, youths listening
12. Med shot, Ahmed Abdulkadir, from Somali Innovation Hub
“Our Innovation hub, Somali Innovation hub provides different services like working
space, mentoring programmes and we build the youth to be able to work and create
new ideas.”
13. Close up shot, Esther Matte, Communication Technology Specialist based in
Nairobi
“I would say, a hub needs to first create a community. So it has to be a place where
all different start-ups can come and interract with each other, of course create an
envirnment where they can co-work together and check bounds of ideas from each
other, create a place where investors can come together and and meet, use the
space or the hub as a funnel to get some portifolio or even for the start-ups to get
some investors.”

14. Wide shot, participants clapping


15. SOUNDBITE: (English) Atul Shekhar, Acting Portfolio Manager for Effective
Institution and Economic Recovery at the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP)
"In Somalia particularly, we are helping youth to get into the employment process
through innovation projects and incubation centers. We are using technology and
other interventions. Thereby we are enabling the youth to create opportunities for
themselves."

16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Awil Osman, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of
iRise Hub in Somalia
For the development agencies, there is donor fatigue. There are lots of funds put in
Somalia for the last 20 years. What the development agencies can do is that they can
invest in social enterprises, startups that are solving social problems. And they can
invest in them in the first two years, and make sure that they work with them and
then they can become sustainable in the future.”

STORY

Hundreds gather for Somalia’s first-ever technology summit

Mogadishu, 25 October 2018 – For some people, technology and its applications in
modern-day society are not what comes to mind when thinking of Somalia.

Efforts are underway to change that.

In the country’s capital, hundreds of people – from young entrepreneurs to potential


investors – gathered this week for the first-ever Mogadishu Tech Summit, backed by
local innovation hub iRise, the Federal Government of Somalia, the United Nations
and other partners.

Participants at the gathering shared perspectives on how digital technological


innovations can drive sustainable development, while sharing perspectives on
various issues ranging from environmental conservation and overcoming challenges
linked to climate change to developing smart cities and building community
resilience in the face of challenges that come with urbanisation.

Addressing the three-day event at its closing on Thursday, a senior advisor in the
Office of the Prime Minister, Abdiqani Jama, outlined how the federal government
was in the process of formulating favourable policies and regulations to help nurture
and encourage young entrepreneurs develop technologies suitable to the country’s
needs.

His comments were echoed by the Minister of State, Abdullahi Hamud: “Part of the
commitment of the Office of the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister himself, to
this city and Somalia in general, is to create an enabling environment that can attract
investment, from global investors and make Somalia the final destination for tourists
and investors.”

Driving development, creating jobs

Participants at the Mogadishu Tech Summit emphasized the important role


innovation hubs can play in driving development and technological transformation,
with some discussions centred on ways in which more youth could be encouraged to
join such centres.

“A hub needs to first create a community, so it has to be a place where all different
startups can interact with each other and create an environment where they can co-
work together and bounce ideas off each other, while at the same time creating a
space where investors can come together, meet and use the space or the hub as a
funnel for portfolios,” said a member of one of the summit’s panel discussions,
Esther Matte, a technology specialist based in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

“Our innovation hub provides different services like working space and mentoring
programmes, and we build up youth to enable them work and create new ideas,”
said another panelist, Ahmed Abdulkadir, who operates Somali Innovation Hub.

Somalis under the age of 35 make up an estimated 70 per cent of the country’s
population. But statistics indicate that the country’s high rate of unemployment is
driving some to migrate illegally to foreign countries or turn towards radical politics
and organizations. While much of the gathering’s focus was on how technology and
innovation can help the country rebuild after decades of armed conflict and
instability, there was also focus on creating job opportunities for and through the
efforts of tech developers and entrepreneurs.

Creating conducive environments

Representatives from UN agencies at the event underscored the importance of


creating a conducive environment for young innovators who are keen on using
technology to solve the social-economic problems facing their country, especially as
advances in Somalia’s technology sector have been driven by diaspora Somalis who
have returned to the Horn of Africa country.

“This summit has given voice to the Somali diaspora by building bridges among the
country and society – diaspora members are a natural development enabler,” said
the Programme Coordinator for the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
in Somalia, Marc Boyd.

"In Somalia, particularly, we are helping youth to get into the employment process
through innovative projects and incubation centers. We are using technology and
other interventions," said an official with the UN Development Programme, Atul
Shekhar, charged with aiding economic recovery efforts. “We are enabling youth to
create opportunities for themselves.”

The summit follows on from the launch last year of Somalia’s first-ever technology
innovation hub, iRise, which promotes collaboration between innovators and
investors, while also offering resources needed by budding entrepreneurs and
startups, such as business training, mentorship, project evaluation and support
during the incubation stages of their projects.

“What the development agencies can do is that they can invest in social enterprises,
startups that are solving social problems,” said a co-founder of iRise, Awil Osman.

The United Nations has advocated for the role of technology in society, noting that
in order to eradicate poverty and reorient current unsustainable development
trajectories up until 2030, affordable technological solutions have to be developed
and disseminated widely in the coming years.

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