On august 17th, iRise hub co-launched the academy for women entrepreneurs (AWE) program with the US embessy in Mogadishu. AWE is a highly regarded program that aims to unlock the potential of thirty young,promising and inspira tional women who are trailblazers in tech, innovation and and entrepreneurship. The program will provide women-led businesses with a veriety of training opportunities, networking opportunities, mentorship, and most crutially the chance to build up their business ideas.

Hamse Warfa, the highest-ranking Somali-American official in the Biden administration, recently engaged in a conversation on the topics of leadership, youth empowerment, and the valuable role of the diaspora community. Drawing from his experiences and expertise, he shed light on the critical role these elements play in shaping Somalia’s future.

Warfa spoke about the importance of investing in young people and empowering them to be agents of change. He also stressed the need for the diaspora community to play a more active role in supporting Somalia’s development.

Mohamed Abdulkadir recently led a workshop on the intricacies of Somalia’s electoral systems. The workshop explored various options and the arguments surrounding them, providing valuable insights into the democratic processes that impact the nation.
He began the workshop by providing an overview of the current electoral system, which is based on a combination of clan representation and direct elections. He then discussed the pros and cons of various alternative systems, such as proportional representation and a mixed member proportional system.

Senior representatives from SOS TNE conducted a formal visit to iRise Hub. The discussions centered around youth-focused initiatives jointly undertaken by both Institutions. Additionally, talks revolved around enhancing their ongoing collaboration beyond the TNE Project. Some forthcoming initiatives were briefly touched upon, to be elaborated upon in future meetings. The session also encompassed an acknowledgment of the achievements and obstacles faced within the TNE project, with a mutual commitment to addressing these challenges collaboratively.

We were delighted to welcome World Vision USA to our headquarters in Somalia last week. The team met with our staff and partners to learn more about our work in the country, and to discuss ways to collaborate in the future.

The visit was a great opportunity for us to share our experiences and knowledge on how we are enabling and investing in the local ecosystem through partnerships and collaborations. We also discussed the challenges and opportunities facing Somalia, and how we can work together to address them.

The BIC Somali Cohort #1’s Incubation Training is making excellent progress at iRise Hub. Participants are actively engaged in various modules crucial for their business ideas’ success. Currently, in its second month, the training has covered two vital modules: Financial Management and Production Management. These topics have drawn considerable interest from the participants due to their significant relevance to their businesses.

In the Financial Management module, the training delved into several sub-topics, including cost classification, cost analysis, key financial indicators, cash flow forecasting, bookkeeping practices, cashbook management, funding sources, and crowdfunding. On the other hand, the Production Management module encompassed discussions on production systems and classification, layout analysis, production capacity, time indicators, maintenance, inventory management, production planning, and lean manufacturing.