Somalia Looks to Youth Innovation as Key to National Progress

GOOBJOOG NEWS | MOGADISHU: Somalia is banking on youth-led innovation to drive national transformation, as MP Qaali Cali Shire urged young Somalis to participate in the HACK4Somalia 2025 competition, a Türkiye-supported initiative aimed at finding tech-based solutions to pressing social challenges.

Launching the event in Mogadishu, Qaali, who chairs the Somalia–Türkiye Parliamentary Friendship Committee, said the competition is a vital tool for nurturing local talent and solving Somalia’s most urgent problems, from education and health to governance and public services.

“This initiative is about giving Somali youth the chance to lead change from the ground up,” she said. “By encouraging innovation, we are strengthening the foundations of Somalia’s recovery and long-term development.”

Qaali praised Türkiye’s role in backing the project, calling it a continuation of broader support in education, reconstruction, and institutional reform.

The initiative is expected to draw participation from across the country, providing a platform for aspiring developers and entrepreneurs to build real-world solutions for Somali communities.

The competition reflects growing efforts to move Somalia beyond reliance on foreign aid by investing in human capital and homegrown ideas.