Empower

Trained men find work through casual labor/File Photo/ Securing employment at a new factory in Harfo, situated in Somalia's Mudug region, has profoundly altered the life of Ahmed Abdikhayr Jama. This pivotal opportunity has allowed him to provide for his family of eight, leading him to relinquish the daunting option of migrating overseas in search of better prospects. Ahmed is part of a remarkable group—over 300 men and women from vulnerable backgrounds—who have been trained and employed at this very factory, which…

On May 8th, the vibrant city of Dakar witnessed a significant stride towards economic empowerment with the official launch of the second phase of the Project for Support and Promotion of Women's and Youth's Entrepreneurial Initiatives, known as PAVIE II. This initiative, strategically rooted in the ambitious “Sénégal 2050” national development framework, boasts a substantial budget of €163.449 million. But what does this really mean for the people of Senegal? The essence of PAVIE II lies not just in numbers but in the…

Empowering Women Farmers: A New Initiative in Somalia On May 8, 2025, a significant milestone was reached in Mogadishu. Janine Cocker, the Head of Cooperation at the Embassy of Canada to Somalia, and Etienne Peterschmitt, the FAO Representative in Somalia, shook hands, symbolizing their commitment to a brighter future for women's empowerment and climate resilience in agriculture. This partnership heralds a new chapter for Somalia’s agricultural landscape, driven by the initiative aptly named “Scaling Up Gender-Inclusive…

Imagine this: you are an aspiring entrepreneur in South Africa, armed with a groundbreaking idea but lacking the necessary funds to lift your dream off the ground. The quest to secure financing brings you face-to-face with a longstanding barrier—conventional banks. According to McKinsey, some banks hold onto antiquated requirements. They insist that SMEs must have an existing relationship, either through lending or transactional banking, to even think about funding. Inevitably, this leaves newly minted businesses out in…

Mariam Mohamed is the brilliant mind behind Hoyo, one of the lucky dozen startups chosen for 2024 microgrants awarded by the benevolent Market Entry Fund. You might have bumped into her on October 1, 2024, bustling around Hoyo's hustle-and-bustle Bloomington spot. Cheers to Dymanh Chhoun and Sahan Journal for shining a spotlight on this! In Somali language, "Hoyo" translates to the word “mother.” Back in 2015, the Mohamed sisters, including Mariam, Halima, and Asha, thought of a grand plan. They decided to put Somali…

A hundred munitions, allegedly including American-made 2,000-pound bombs, were unleashed by the Israeli air force in a colossal air assault on Friday night. The target? Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, holed up in an underground bunker in Dahieh, a suburb in southern Beirut.Nasrallah, notorious for his near-paranoid security measures, seldom ventured into public view. He barely gave a nod to his impending journey for this fateful meeting, but Israeli intelligence was so deep-rooted within Hezbollah that they knew exactly…