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STORY: SOMALIA / TECH SUMMIT
TRT: 4:16
SOURCE: UNSOM
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNSOM FOOTAGE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SOMALI / NATS
DATELINE: 21 NOVEMBER 2019, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA
1. Wide shot, participants taking part in 2019 Mogadishu Tech Summit
2. Wide shot, participants taking part in 2019 Mogadishu Tech Summit
3. Med shot, participants taking part in 2019 Mogadishu Tech Summit
4. Close up shot, participants taking part in 2019, Mogadishu Tech Summit
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Jocelyn Mason, UNDP Resident Coordinator for Somalia:
“UNDP is very excited to once again support the Summit on Technology and Sustainable Development. The Summit is an excellent opportunity for Somalia, for Somalia’s people - and especially young people such as yourselves - to discuss the future of their country and explore new ways to overcome issues like climate change, water scarcity, and ultimately achieve the sustainable development goals through innovation and technology.”
6. Med shot, participants taking part in 2019 Mogadishu Tech Summit
7. Med shot, master of ceremony inviting the Somalia Minister of Planning, Investment and Economic Development, Jamal Hassan, to give his remarks
8. Med shot, participants listening during the summit
9. Wide shot, participants taking part in 2019 Mogadishu Tech Summit
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Jamal Hassan, Somalia Minister of Planning, Investment and Economic Development:
“Today Somalia faces as you all know challenges in economic, security and environmental issues. Utilizing the powers of our youth towards the discovery of innovative solutions with the use of science and technology is our best chance in overcoming those challenges. Therefore the impetus is upon us to channel the resources of our government and our international partners to invest in advancing the capacity of Somalia’s youth in scientific and technological fields.''
11. Wide shot, master of ceremony addressing participants during the 2019 Mogadishu Tech Summit
12. Med shot, Somalia Minister of Planning, Investment and Economic Development Jamal Hassan listening during the function
13. Med shot, participants listening during the function
14. Wide shot, Avis Mulhall from the UNDP Somalia Accelerator Lab, moderating a session during the 2019 Mogadishu Tech Summit
15. Wide shot, participants listening during 2019 Mogadishu Tech Summit
16. Close up, participants listening during 2019 Mogadishu Tech Summit
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Avis Mulhall, UNDP Somalia Accelerator Lab:
“There is an entire ecosystem within the NGO space, within the private sector, within the finance sector that actually really wants to see a thriving tech community here in Somalia and particularly in Mogadishu. So we are really excited at the UNDP to be here supporting youth and driving this agenda of technology and innovation forward”.
18. Med shot, youth giving his remarks during the function
19. Close up, participant listening during the function
20. Med shot, participants listening during the function
21. Wide shot, youth innovator making his remarks during the function
22. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdullahi Alas, Co-Founder of Hibeeye, A Blood Donation Bank Mobile App:
“Now that people do not have access to safe blood transfusion what happened is we have come up with this idea of let's create something that connects people who really want to donate blood and people who are actually in need”.
23. Wide shot, youth innovator giving her remarks during the event
24. Close up, participant listening during the function
25. Med shot, banner, Mogadishu tech Summit
26. Wide shot, participant making a presentation during the function
27. Med shot, participant making a presentation during the function
28. Med shot, other panelist listening during the presentation
29. Wide shot, participants taking part in the Mogadishu Tech Summit
30. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Ifra Isse Mohamed, Co-Owner, Sadra Beauty Company:
“I am one of the companies that displayed their products at Mogadishu Tech Summit. We manufacture various lotions like one made from a mixture of avocado and cactus and one made from carrots. We also produce lip balm, which people use to prevent lips from cracking during the cold weather and has no additives and can be used by both men and women”.
31. SOUNDBITE (English) Awil Osman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer I-Rise Hub
“The main reason why we organized Mogadishu Tech Summit is to bring together innovators, entrepreneurs, social activists and youth around Somalia and also diaspora so that they can share their experiences, so that they share how they can actually solve the problems that Somalia is facing with technology, innovation and through entrepreneurship and social innovations”.
32. Wide shot, participants interacting at the Mogadishu Tech Summit
The Mogadishu Tech Summit closed in the Somali capital today amidst words of praise and encouragement from the government and the United Nations, and pledges worth millions of dollars in support of technological advancement in Somalia.
Somalia’s Minister of Planning, Investment and Economic Development, Jamal Hassan, said today in his remarks to the gathering, “somalia has, as you all know, economic, security and environmental challenges. Utilizing the strength of our youth towards the discovery of innovative solutions in science and technology is our best chance to overcome those challenges.”
The Minister urged more support for technological advancement and innovation. It was a view shared by other speakers, which included the European Union Ambassador to Somalia, Nicolas Berlanga Martines; the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Resident Coordinator for Somalia, Jocelyn Mason; the Swedish Ambassador to Somalia, Staffan Tillander; and the US Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission, Brian Neubert.
More than 5,000 people attended this year’s Mogadishu Technology Summit. The three-day annual event was the second of its kind and once again brought together Somalis involved in the tech industry and representatives from the government, UN agencies, international partners, investors and financial institutions – some of which pledged millions of dollars in support.
This year, Salaam Bank pledged $5 million for the next three years to be made available to innovators and entrepreneurs, with access to the funds provided through iRise, Somalia’s first-ever technology innovation hub which promotes collaboration between innovators and investors, while also offering resources needed by budding entrepreneurs and startups, such as business training, mentorship, project evaluation and support during the incubation stages of their projects. Last year, Premier Bank injected $1 million into the tech summit, with close to a quarter of that amount already disbursed to emerging innovators and entrepreneurs.
Awil Osman, the Chief Executive Officer of iRise, which organizes the Mogadishu Tech Summit said, “the main reason why we organized Mogadishu Tech Summit is to bring together innovators, entrepreneurs, social activists and youth around Somalia and also from the diaspora so that they can share their experiences and share how they can actually solve the problems that Somalia is facing through entrepreneurship and social innovations.”
In his remarks to the event, Mason from UNDP referred to its links to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet and are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
He said, “the summit is an excellent opportunity for Somalia, Somalia’s people and especially young people to discuss the future of their country and explore new ways to overcome issues like climate change, water scarcity and ultimately achieve the Sustainable Developments Goals through innovation and technology.”
Avis Mulhall, from UNDP’s Somalia Accelerator Lab – one of 60 serving 78 countries by working with national and global partners to find new approaches that fit the complexity of current development challenges – said that Somalia has a bright future thanks to the passions of its innovators.
She said, “there is an entire ecosystem within the NGO space, within the private sector, within the finance sector that wants to see a thriving tech community here in Somalia and particularly Mogadishu. So we are really excited that UNDP is here supporting youth and driving this agenda of technology and innovation forward.”
Some 40 young innovators exhibited their various technological inventions. A highlight among them was a blood bank mobile App called Hibeeye, which means ‘donor’ in the Somali language.
Abdullahi Alas and his friends were inspired to develop the app after the lethal bomb attack in Mogadishu on 14 October 2017, which killed at least 587 people and ranks as the deadliest ever terrorist bombing in Africa involving the use of improvised explosive devices. Hundreds more were injured in the blast.
Alas explained, “it was clear then that people did not have access to safe blood transfusion, or a blood bank. So we came up with this idea to create something that connects people who want to donate blood to people who are actually in need,” adding that the app is already in use in Mogadishu.
However, an all-girl team that manufactures beauty products emerged as the winners for the award of the gathering’s best innovation. Their start-up, Sadra Beauty Company, uses locally available raw materials to manufacture lotion, hair and body oil, as well as lip balm.
The company’s co-founder, Ifra Isse Mohamed said, “we manufacture various lotions. We have one made from a mixture of avocado and cactus and one made from carrots. We also produce lip balm from natural products, which can be used by both men and women.”
