Baidoa, the largest city in Somalia’s South West State, hosts an estimated 500,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in overcrowded settlements with limited access to livelihoods, infrastructure and essential services. For its residents, the large IDP population places heavy pressure on displacement-affected communities (DACs), stretching already limited basic services and increasing competition for jobs, land and natural resources.

Born in 1974 in Hargeisa to a Baidoa-origin family, Mr. Abdisalam Ali Mohamed grew up far from his ancestral home. In 1988, as the civil war spread across the country, he moved to Mogadishu, then to Baidoa. But insecurity within the country remained widespread, forcing him to flee again, this time across the border to Mandera, Kenya where he lived in a refugee camp.

In 1992, he returned to Baidoa determined to build a stable life in his homeland. He travelled between Baidoa, Bosaso and Mogadishu in search of stable income and opportunities, but always returned to Baidoa, the place where his roots, family, and, he believed, a better future could be anchored.

In Baidoa, he started a mixed poultry and livestock farm. However, a severe poultry disease outbreak in 2019 destroyed most of his birds and forced him to pivot fully to livestock farming. Rather than collapsing under the setback, he used it as an opportunity to rebuild the business with a new vision: a vertically integrated goat enterprise supplying affordable meat to Baidoa and eventually producing diary products such as milk, butter and cheese.

Baidoa’s economy is largely agro-pastoral, with livestock trade and crop production comprising the main sources of livelihood. The city serves as an important commercial hub, linking surrounding rural areas to urban markets in southern Somalia, despite the ongoing challenges related to displacement, limited infrastructure and insecurity. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in sustaining the local economy by providing employment, supporting value chains, and ensuring the availability of essential goods, such as food, livestock products and pharmaceuticals, as well as basic services such as electricity, water and waste collection.

Like many of Baidoa’s current and aspiring entrepreneurs, Mr. Abdisalam faced persistent barriers that stymied business growth, including restricted access to finance, limited business training, weak market linkages, and climate-related production shocks

To address these obstacles, in 2022, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partnered with the South West State Chamber of Commerce, and a local financial institution to pilot SME finance in displacement-affected communities. Its aim is to strengthen Baidoa’s economic development by providing entrepreneurs — from retailers to small scale farmers, agribusiness to hospitality — with the skills, capital and support systems needed to grow their businesses and create jobs.

In 2023, Mr. Abdisalam received US$30,000 in Sharia-compliant financing with a 6% markup, over 24 months, which he used to rehabilitate his farm, construct new animal shelters, procure veterinary medicines, and improve feeding systems. This allowed him to regulate his production cycles and to reliably supply the local market. Importantly, the loan was paid back on time.

Today, Mr. Abdisalam continues to support his 30 children, many of whom are adults with children of their own. Some are in university, other in secondary or primary school, and all depend on him and the stability his family business provides.

But the impact of the business extends far beyond his own family. His business employs 12 IDPs, including women, who assist with animal care, feeding and cleaning. These jobs provide reliable income to families who were previously dependent on humanitarian aid.

“If we strengthen these farms, we can feed our families, employ others, and build peace through work,” says Mr. Abdisalam Ali Mohamed.

His livestock farm employs 12 IDPs, including women, in Baidoa, Somalia.

About the initiative:

The SME financing provided to Abdisalam is part of the Saameynta Programme — a joint UN initiative of UNDP, IOM and UN Habitat funded by Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland through the Somalia Joint Fund (SJF) — to support the Federal Government of Somalia in their goal to achieve durable solutions for an estimated 2.6 million displaced people within the country.

Forced displacement, drought, and closure of refugee camps in neighbouring countries have further exacerbated the displacement situation. This project recognises that displacement is a barrier to the improvement of living conditions of the people that experience its misery and prevents those groups to seize opportunities that, if made available to other poor social groups, would enable them to improve their situation over time. Therefore, addressing protracted displacement in Somalia is an imperative and urgent priority. The Saamaynta (Impact) project addresses Somalia’s internal displacement challenges in an innovative manner, seeking durable solutions that are affordable and sustainable through addressing specific inter-related systemic blockages, challenges, and opportunities.