Pioneers

Abdigani Diriye:

Innovation—what does it mean to you? Do you think of a product, a process, a business model?

Coming from the world of tech, I think about AI and self-driving cars—cutting-edge tech we usually find in the first world. But I want to tell you about innovation found in very unexpected places and off the beaten track.

I'm from Somalia—specifically, Somaliland, an independent state in the north. The population of Somalia numbers around 12 million people. Unemployment sits at around 50%, and according to a recent World Bank report, it is the most difficult place in the world to do business.

I left in ’89 during the civil war for the UK. When I returned some 20 years later, eager to give back, I was amazed by what I found. I came across so many truly cool products, such as a mobile-based payment system called Sahaan, which leapfrogged what I was using in the UK. I could pay for goods and services by using nothing more than a basic phone. A lack of a fully functioning financial system in Somalia made these users some of the most active anywhere in the world. That contrast between the economic and political conditions of the country and what I was seeing right in front of me was just so striking.

However, this shouldn't surprise us. There's a renaissance of innovation in Africa. Over a hundred incubators, accelerators, and hubs have cropped up all over the continent. Centers of science and technology are being established in countries like South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda.

Inspired by this, I co-founded an organization that fostered innovation and invested in Somali startups, so they could in return create jobs and address big societal challenges facing the country. When my co-founders and I started, there was no precedent for a startup culture—or even such initiatives. Creating this organization was so much harder than in other countries because of the resource constraints, lack of awareness, and high operational costs. Utilities like internet and electricity were several times higher than in neighboring countries.

But by working closely with local universities and institutions to raise awareness, with the private sector and donors to access financial support, and finally with domain experts in the country and in the diaspora for content and programming, we were able to overcome many of these challenges.

Since 2012, my co-founders and I have managed to successfully start the first incubators and accelerators in Somalia and Somaliland. We handpick the most exciting and promising innovators and startups in the country and provide them with the training, investment, and mentoring they need to scale their ideas.

To date, we’ve received more than 500 applications, trained more than 25 startups, and dispensed seed investment in the range of $1,000 to $5,000. This goes a very, very long way in a country where the GDP per capita is under $500.

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There have been a number of success stories—a testament to the immense talent, creativity, and drive of the Somali youth. One of my favorites is an e-commerce startup called Gordanrad. They sell electronics and clothing on their marketplace—and oddly enough, this story starts by me rejecting their application from the program.

But luckily, the three young co-founders—Saeed, Hanson, and Happy—wouldn’t take no for an answer. I was won over by their charisma and tenacity. Since last year, they’ve been working to find the right product-market fit for their startup. They tried a number of different approaches until they finally came across an online-to-offline business model that would allow the discerning Somali consumer to see and feel what they were buying before paying for it.

As a result, they’ve now gone on to open half a dozen stores, employ a dozen people, and are on course to hit their first $1 million in sales this year.

Their success has inspired so many other startups. I believe if we continue our support and investment, we can nurture the next wave of innovators and startups—and show that you can truly innovate and thrive in the most challenging and unexpected of places.

Thank you.