Somali Returnee Supported with Business Startup Cash Grant from IOM, Funded by KSrelief

Ahmed Noor, aged 26, is a Somali returnee from Yemen and a father of three children. Noor is from a pastoral family in Lower Juba and went to Yemen in 2006 due to famine in Somalia. Noor lived in Yemen for 10 years and returned to Somalia after a war erupted between forces loyal to the internationally recognized government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and those allied to the Houthi rebel movement. While attempting to flee from Yemen, Noor sustained a wound by a stray bullet. Noor with his three children managed to reach Bosaso on their own through a boat journey. At the Bosaso reception centre, IOM provided his family with USD 300 as transport allowance to continue his journey to his final destination – Kismayo. With support from his relatives, Noor rented a small shop and started selling clothes and shoes.

Under the KSrelief-funded project (June 2016 – July 2017) Noor received cash grant of USD 800 from IOM to boost his ongoing business and to re-integrate well in the community. Several months after receiving the grants, Noor says it helped him a lot in improving his business. The grant not only allowed him to stock new bundles of clothes but the increased income led him to earn more trust from other business people. This enabled him to access credit, which was not possible when he first returned. He said, “I managed to buy different bundles of clothes with the grant I received from IOM and also the whole seller gave me the opportunity to take more bundles of clothes on credit so that I sell the clothes in my shop.”