In 2017, single mother Ubah Yussuf and her eight children fled their home in Janale District in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle Region. They were forced out by the impact of severe drought that had hit her community. She and her children ended up in an internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp in Deynile District in Banadir region. With minimal resources, Ubah and her children survived through financial support from her neighbors to help her family survive.
Anxious about meeting the family's needs, she reached out to an uncle for capital to start a small business selling clothes to women and children in the IDP camp. However, Ubah had no training or skills to run the business, and she quickly found herself struggling to grow her profits and with few options to grow her business. Ubah is among a growing number of IDP women who face structural barriers to accessing financing and credit from banks due to a lack of formal documentation and credit history.
USAID’s Inclusive Resilience in Somalia (IRiS) project, jointly funded with the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), partnered with International Bank of Somalia (IBS) to develop unique micro-credit facilities and products targeted at the most vulnerable individuals, such as Ubah.
USAID trained Ubah and 150 other women on investment readiness skills and techniques to build the bank's confidence and ensure readiness to access the credit facilities. The two-week program helped her understand business management, strategic planning, and gain skills in financial literacy, all of which were important for her business growth and sustainability.
With USAID’s support, Ubah secured a $1,000 loan from the bank in January 2024, enabling her to expand her business. "Getting money from a bank was beyond my dreams because I knew people like me in a camp could never get money from a bank," recalls Ubah. Her daily income grew from US$2.50 to US$25, allowing Ubah to improve her family's living standards. Her children now regularly attend school, and she supports her aging parents.
Encouraged by the positive response from IDPs like Ubah, USAID will continue to partner with IBS Bank to get the products to more people across Somalia. Ubah is also seeking an additional $2,000 investment to further grow her business. "I now have an opportunity to multiply my investment and secure the future for my family and community," she says with pride.
Primary TextI now have an opportunity to multiply my investment and secure the future for my family and community," says Ubah with pride.