Building Sustainable Opportunities for Resilient Communities
USAID works with the private sector, local communities and Somali government to strengthen livelihoods and create sustainable solutions which help internally displaced people and vulnerable people integrate into local economies. This support aims to increase the ability and resources of Somali communities to withstand recurrent shocks and ultimately to reduce reliance on humanitarian assistance.
Improvements to markets and trade benefit the local economy, as well as increase stability throughout the Horn of Africa. USAID’s economic growth programs strengthen and diversify livelihoods and accelerate economic development for marginalized groups in the targeted areas of Somalia by increasing individual, household, business, community, and system-wide resilience through rural and urban livelihood diversification and promoting inclusive economic market systems.
Economic Growth Portfolio
Inclusive Resilience in Somalia (IRiS) Activity
Partner: DT Global
Estimated Cost: $65 million / June 2022 – June 2027
IRiS aims to enhance the resilience of individuals, households, businesses, and communities by diversifying rural and urban livelihoods and promoting inclusive and resilient market systems. The activity takes a facilitative approach, focusing on building the resilience capacities of producer groups and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), processing and export companies in the key productive sectors of agriculture, fisheries, and livestock. This is done to help them withstand the shocks and stresses of recurrent droughts, erratic floods, social or political conflicts, and economic instability which can lead to market volatility. The activity is also being supported by the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
Reducing Communities’ Vulnerability to Drought and External Shocks (RECOVER)
Partner: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Total Contribution: $12.5 million / October 2022 – September 2025
RECOVER addresses food insecurity by helping farmers, livestock herders, and fishing communities implement climate-smart techniques to increase production of nutritious food for their families and communities. USAID will establish resilient communities by building new skills to diversify their livelihoods and enable them to pivot from a traditional single-focused economy.
TRANSFORM
Partner: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Total Contribution: $25 million / June 2024 – June 2027
TRANSFORM is USAID’s investment in the Jowhar Offstream Storage Project (JOSP) with the aim to improve food security and resilience in Somalia. TRANSFORM will directly bolster resilience to Somalia’s increasing droughts and floods by: reducing flood risk for 1.5 million people by diverting excess water to the Jowhar reservoir; reducing drought impact by increasing river flow during dry periods by releasing captured flood waters for the benefit of approximately 370,000 people dependent on irrigated farmland and enabling cultivation of additional land to feed another estimated 100,000 people. JOSP is a $105 million multi-donor program implemented by FAO in close coordination with USAID and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). TRANSFORM will rehabilitate the backbone infrastructure of the JOSP.
Scaling Durable Solutions
Partner: International Organization for Migration (IOM) / Danwadaaag Consortium
Estimated Cost: $11.5 million / October 2022 – September 2025
Somalis displaced by drought, floods, and conflicts are causing a rapid urbanization. These internally displaced people (IDPs) lack social connections, secure land tenure, livelihoods, and infrastructure for basic services. The Scaling Durable Solutions activity is piloting urban solutions to these challenges showing others where investments in urban resilience are best made to achieve long lasting change and integrating the IDPs into the city.
Berbera Port Project
Partner: Trademark East Africa
Total Contribution: $2.5 million / October 2022 – September 2024
The Berbera Port in Somaliland* is a key entry port for goods into Somalia and all of East Africa. USAID is working with the Somaliland government to strengthen the Berbera Port’s ability to meet international sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) and certification mechanisms to ensure food is safe for consumption. This will accelerate the movement of goods and increase the value of vital exports, such as livestock and fish, and increasing availability of food commodities and humanitarian aid.
Power Africa, Empowering East and Central Africa (EECA) Program
Partner: RTI International
Total Contribution: $2,000,,000 / 2023 – 2028
USAID’s Power Africa EECA project expands affordable and reliable electricity services in Somalia - where only an estimated 49% of the population have access to electricity. USAID Power Africa promotes a transition to clean energy that is affordable for the Somali people and can support economic growth, security, and improved outcomes in health and education. This is done through technical assistance to private electricity service providers in Somalia to diversify their generation from diesel to renewable energy, including solar power. Moreover, the activity also supports the government to undertake policy and regulatory reforms to improve the governance and performance of the energy sector and create an enabling environment to attract private investments.
*Somaliland is the northernmost region of Somalia. The United States recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia, including the region of Somaliland.
