(ERGO) – Around 110 young people living in Banadir region have found employment with local Barwaqo Fish Company that has offered training in sale and marketing of fish and provided fish stocks to sell.
Farhan Mohamed Yusuf, one of the beneficiaries of the scheme, set up a small stall in Wadajir district in April selling fish. He makes $10 selling up to 30 kg of fish a day that helps support his family and parents.
“There is a big difference between a person who wakes up in the morning and wanders around the city or just sleeps, and one who earns even one dollar a day. When I started doing business my life changed. No one buys me clothes or even pays our family bills, I pay my own bills,” he said.
This father of six, who was unemployed for three years, received training and a $300 loan from Barwaqo Fish Company to set up his stall.
“When I joined this company, I didn’t have money. The training I got helped me learn how to trade the fish. I sell and keep the profit while also managing to return the loan to the company,” he said.
Farhan graduated from Somalia University with a degree in information technology in 2017. Unable to find formal employment, he began driving public transport buses. In 2020, he lost his driving job as tuktuk taxis became more popular. He had to depend on his mother’s small income selling vegetables in Wadajir district.
Now he is enjoying facing the challenges of working in the fish trade.
“There are always challenges, sometimes the roads are closed because there are some government officials that would be using the road. Some of our clients come from far areas and might not reach us. Sometimes other fish suppliers sell the fish at cheaper rates that makes our fish less competitive,” he said.
Some of the young people given job opportunities had been unemployed for a long time and struggled to raise capital to start businesses.
Ahmad Ali had been living in an IDP camp for three years and is happy to receive training to become self-sufficient in business.
He and his six siblings depended on their mother’s laundry jobs for a living. Six months ago, he took on the role of providing for his family as he began earning up to $200 a month from fish sales through the Barwaqo Fish Company scheme. He transports fish to retailers in Mogadishu.
He dreams of moving his family out of the IDP camp and has been saving up for a better life.
Ahmad and his family were displaced from Jowhar in 2021 following floods that inundated their farm and destroyed their crops.
Ibrahim Ilyas Daud, 22, also set up a small business selling fish on a hand-pulled cart. He sells raw and cooked meat in the street, making $7-9 a day to support his wife and two children, and his mother.
“We used to depend on my mother for a living but now I support them. I was surprised to hear of this opportunity and I never thought I’d be working here, but I believe this job will improve our lives,” he explained.
