Wednesday May 8, 2019
The digital economy is a new concept in Somaliland (north Somalia) and
the Somali regions. However, we can still find good examples that catch
our attention; like zaad mobile money services in Somaliland, the
e-commerce business Ari Farm in Somali, and many more e-commerce
businesses by local nationals. Local and international non-governmental
organizations (NGO’s) have also given great consideration to funding
e-commerce business ideas by youth in general and information technology
(IT) graduates in particular, e.g., Innovate Ventures in Somaliland.
Nevertheless, many of our youth are still missing the skills needed to
generate enough economy from the rapidly growing digital world. My blog
will mainly discuss online freelancing as a source of digital economy,
challenges, solutions and an insight into the future of work in
Somaliland.
Nowadays, there are many online freelancing platforms and dozens of
online courses that teach how to make online income. One of the biggest
freelance portals that is worth mentioning is UpWork, a platform that
facilities transactions between employers around the globe and job
hunters. This site only approves the profile of skilled and qualified
freelancers when they register. Personally, I signed up and had my first
job after I took online courses, and honestly the request for skilled
workers will restrict Somaliland youth from entering the market.
We can’t compare local job market with the international job markets.
Challenges ahead of the Somali youth are quite threatening. We don’t
have a payment system that directly transfers money to our local banks.
Somali youth are likely to face language barriers. They need training on
how they can sell their skills in international job markets. They need
to acquire the skills needed to compete for online jobs. On the other
hand, companies should also use such sites to create solutions for their
business activities.
As a successful online freelancer, I saw the gap between the market
supply and the online market demand. As such, I started WeFreelance as
an effort to bridge the gap between the local and international job
markets. I introduce online freelancing to university graduates despite
their faculty, help them write their profile and connect them with
clients. There are many things we can do with regard to connecting our
youth with international job markets and creating more job
opportunities. I think educational institutes should produce qualified
students. I think the government should control and monitor the quality
of those institutions. I think skills training centers should be opened
with high-speed internet and laptops to train and provide a working
space for freelancers. Companies can also find solutions to their
problems by entering these online markets, or we can attract foreign
companies to come to Somaliland through such portals.
As the job market in Somaliland fails to provide job opportunities to
most of university graduates, more graduates will try to start their own
freelance business. Those businesses will mainly depend on the internet
as the offline business expenses is hard to afford by fresh graduates;
as such more enabling environment is needed to boost digital economy
activities in the country.
Yasmin Ali Gedi, a Somali national, is a winner of the World Bank Africa 2019 Blog4Dev regional competition.