The Shaqodoon program was created to provide Somali youth with greater access to training, internships, work and self-employment opportunities in order to productively engage youth and add to the stability and development of the region. Shaqodoon is Somali for “jobseekers”. Somali staff, assisted by international experts, works with employers to better understand their needs for skills, assist education and training providers to develop programs more focused on meeting labor market demand, and build upon existing technical training programs via direct financial support distributed through an open, competitive process. The project uses innovative technology to help achieve its goals: Shaqodoon is producing interactive, Somali-language audio programs on financial literacy and entrepreneurship and linking youth to opportunities through the use of cell phones and web-based technologies. The program, an Associate Award of EQUIP3, is currently in Somaliland and will soon expand to Puntland and South Central Somalia. The project aims to reach 8,000 youth over a three-year period.
Visit EDC’s International Development Division website for additional project information and resources.
Director: Paul Sully
Duration: 2008–2011
Website: http://shaqodoon.org/
Funder: U.S. Agency for International Development
Partners: Telesom, Inc.; Souktel, Inc.; Somaliland Government Ministries