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Young Somali woman working at her phone repair shop.[UNDP]
In Mogadishu, I met Fartun, a young woman learning to repair mobile phones. After years of instability and displacement, she hopes to return to her hometown and open a small business with fellow trainees, a dream shared by many young Somalis I met during my visit. She will likely become one of the first female mobile technicians in Somalia.
This is a remarkable achievement in a country where opportunities for young women remain limited, but where demand for technology-related skills is rapidly growing from mobile phone repairs and software support to renewable energy such as solar power. These are not niche skills; they respond directly to fast-growing demand across Somalia’s urban and rural economies.
What struck me most was not only her ambition, but what it represented: the quiet determination of a generation trying to build a future beyond crisis. Too often, conversations about Somalia are framed solely through the lens of humanitarian need. The statistics are stark. Nearly 3.3 million Somalis remain displaced within their own country.
