Today’s Map of the Day comes from a fascinating new initiatiative called Shuraako, which is Somali for “partnership.” Shuraako is the project of a US based philanthropy and seeks to connect investors to opportunities in Somalia and Somaliland.
The project includes an interactive platform in which users can search investment opportunities among many bona fide NGO, iNGO and private sector ventures with ongoing or proposed job creating projects in Somalia.
Here is a screen cap of their mapping tool. You can browse by region, agency, and sector. It is very much worth a click-through.
Shuraako says their primary target audience are the Diaspora community (which already sends over $1 billion in remittances each year); impact investors who are looking for a double bottom line; traditional investors and philanthropies. Shuraako stresses it is merely a neutral platform to facilitate the kinds of investments that will lead to job growth and promote stability in Somalia.
If ever there was a time to invest in Somalia it is now. Somalia is emerging out of over 20 years of political crisis and civil war; the Al Shabaab insurgency has been largely defeated and a semblance of stability is taking hold. The hard task now is repairing Somalia’s economy, which has been depressed by years of conflict and drought. Creating meaningful employment opportunities — particularly through private sector investments — is critical to ensuring that these recent gains are not reversed. Thanks to Shuraako, anyone has the opportunity to help Somalia where it needs help the most.