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INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NAIROBI 000646 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E AND ACTING A/S CARTER 
ALSO FOR AF/EPS - Ann Breiter and Ada Adler 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID/EA 
COMMERCE FOR BECKY ERKUL 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON ETRD EAID SO DJ
 
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - Business Community Pledges to Support Youth and 
the TFG 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY.  On March 21-22, more than 80 prominent Somali 
business leaders gathered in Djibouti for the UN-sponsored workshop, 
"Job Opportunities and Youth Employment: The Role of the Business 
Community."  The two day session was the largest formal gathering of 
Somalia's private-sector principals in recent memory and included 
some of the most influential businesspeople operating in Somalia. 
Participants came from across Somalia, Dubai, Nairobi, Uganda, and 
South Africa.  They agreed that a prerequisite to generating jobs 
was greater security and a strong federal government.  The business 
leaders committed to support immediate, short-term labor projects to 
improve public infrastructure and to sponsor skills training and 
development.  With representatives of Somalia's Transitional Federal 
Government (TFG) present, the businessmen urged the government to 
establish an economic policy and regulatory framework that includes 
formal incentives for job creation and a transparent banking and 
finance system to attract foreign direct investment.  The 
participants agreed on a 24-person steering committee to carry 
forward the workshop recommendations and to develop concrete 
proposals to engage in particular Somalia's disaffected youth.  The 
workshop communique included in paragraph 12.  End summary. 
 
Launching a Collective 
Strategy To Reclaim 
Somalia's Youth 
----------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) On March 21-22, more than 80 representatives from many of 
Somalia's largest companies met in Djibouti for the workshop, "Job 
Opportunities and Youth Employment: The Role of the Business 
Community."  Sponsored by the UN Political Office for Somalia 
(UNPOS), the two-day session was the largest formal gathering of 
Somalia's private sector principals in recent memory.  They traveled 
from Mogadishu, Somaliland, Puntland, Dubai, Nairobi, Uganda, and 
South Africa and were joined by at least 15 Djibouti-based 
businessmen, many of whom are members of the Somalia Business and 
Investment Council.  The Somalia Affairs Unit worked closely with 
UNPOS in structuring the workshop, identifying participants, and 
ensuring that focus on the private sector was within the larger 
framework of the Djibouti peace process. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General 
for Somalia Charles Petrie opened the workshop on March 21 
describing the meeting as an informal gathering to reflect and 
brainstorm on the role of the business community to bring jobs to 
Somalia's disaffected youth.  The Minister of Youth and Sports 
Suleiman Olad Roble told the group that while security in Mogadishu 
is improving daily, youth have few opportunities and the government 
has no resources to offer them.  He invited the business leaders to 
work in partnership with the government to provide youth another 
option than becoming "guns for hire."  In the conference closing 
remarks, Minister of Trade Abdirachid Mohamed Abdi echoed many of 
the same sentiments. 
 
Immediate Needs: Security 
and a Strong Government 
------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Answering the question, "What does business need to create 
jobs?" in small-group sessions, each of the groups highlighted the 
importance of a functioning government that can deliver services, a 
low tax regime with little room for manipulation, and curbs on 
corruption. The participants agreed that security and a strong 
federal government were prerequisites to generating jobs.  Each 
recognized that unemployed youth are one of the greatest security 
risks, and that only a small percentage of this population has 
marketable skills.  They committed to support skills training and 
labor projects to rebuild the Mogadishu's infrastructure. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The conversation advanced the idea of establishing private 
security forces, following the example of the Bakara Market business 
associations who have successfully "professionalized" security 
around the market.  Some were willing to finance local security 
forces in particular areas.  On the margins of the meeting, we 
floated the idea of the private sector supporting Somalia's Joint 
Security Forces.  Some of the businessmen were keen to support this 
idea while others felt it was more important to support 
 
NAIROBI 00000646  002 OF 003 
 
 
community-based models that they felt would be more sustainable in 
the long term.  We responded that security must be a primary focus 
at both the federal and the local levels concurrently. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In the short term, the participants committed to show the 
business community is collectively addressing common goals - peace 
and stability in Somalia.  The business leaders liked the suggestion 
to host promotional activities to support the theme "Employment for 
Peace."  They agreed to explore how to positively promote Somali 
business through an "Invest in Somalia" campaign, targeting the 
Diaspora and building awareness of opportunities and methods to 
invest directly or indirectly.  In the longer term they sought to 
proactively market Somali products through trade promotion in global 
markets. 
 
Creating Employment 
Opportunities 
------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The businessmen wanted to do their patriotic duty by 
employing youth, but recognized that a key to their commercial 
success has been to employ the fewest number of people possible in 
order to maximize profits. They expressed interest in taking on 
labor intensive government public works projects.  They mooted the 
possibility of renovating or constructing markets, workshops and 
offices to jump-start the informal sector and small businesses. 
They agreed to support new entrepreneurs through business training 
and providing micro-credit loans.  Many noted that youth would 
likely lack basic education and may need to begin with literacy and 
numeracy training.  They asked for ILO to survey the labor market to 
define skills gaps. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) In the medium term, they pledged to push vocational 
education, to equip training centers and to use local contractors 
and schools to deliver and certify skill acquisition.  Recognizing 
that many of the youth may have been involved in armed militias, 
they agreed that any plan must link with a DDR framework and offer 
income alternatives to ex-militia.  They supported the idea that 
completion of a training course could be used as "collateral" for 
micro-credit.  One of the female entrepreneurs underlined the 
critical work needed in attitude and behavioral change to 
re-establish social norms, re-emphasizing the traditional value of 
constructive work.  Making a commitment to use Somalia-based 
organizations for these types of activities would generate its own 
set of employment opportunities, she noted. 
 
Enhancing Policy 
and Regulatory Frameworks 
------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The representatives often returned to the theme of 
creating an enabling environment with mutual responsibilities by the 
government and private sector.  But in the current absence of any 
formal government regulations, the business leaders agreed that 
self-regulation is critical to ensure that good business practices 
are cultivated and promulgated, including respect for worker rights 
and ensuring transparent contractual procedures.  They wanted to 
work with the government to help establish standards and creating 
public bodies for arbitration of disputes, moving Somalia toward 
international rules, regulations and standards. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The business leaders discussed their plans to eventually 
transition the existing national chamber of commerce from 
politically- to business community-appointed leadership.  In the 
longer term they recognized the importance of integrating Somalia 
into regional and global trade bodies.  They called on the UN and 
World Bank to assist the government with international frameworks to 
facilitate trade and development.  Additional priorities included 
developing a transparent central banking and finance system, 
establishing export guarantees, supporting investment promotion, and 
harnessing bilateral aid and development funds to help attract 
foreign direct investment. 
 
Promote Positive Engagement: 
Establish a Steering Committee 
------------------------------ 
 
NAIROBI 00000646  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Rebuffing a plan by the meeting's most influential 
participants to name a small steering committee, the meeting agreed 
to a 24-member multi-regional, multi-sectoral, mixed-gender steering 
committee. The committee pledged to meet again within thirty days 
and prepare specific proposals they could present to the larger 
group.  Participants also promised in the immediate term to do what 
they could to support President Sharif and his government to 
stabilize the country, and noted that many have already provided 
direct material support to the TFG in the form of cash, 
transportation, and lodging for MPs and cabinet members in 
Mogadishu.  The Somalia Affairs Unit will remain engaged with this 
group and will assist UNPOS in planning a strategy to help support 
their stated priorities to create employment and facilitate the 
enabling environment for investment. 
 
Communique 
---------- 
 
¶12.  (U) At the conclusion of the workshop, UNPOS released the 
following communique: 
 
¶1. In the spirit of the Djibouti Agreement, the Somali Business 
Community (SBC) held a workshop in Djibouti from 21 to 22 March 2009 
to brainstorm on ways in which it could assist in creating job 
opportunities and employment for the youth. The SBC based in 
Somalia, Djibouti, Dubai, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda, as well as 
youth and women's associations attended the workshop. In that 
context, the delegates: 
 
a) recognized that creating decent work for the people of Somalia, 
particularly the youth, is a high priority for the achievement and 
consolidation of peace and reconciliation. 
 
b) discussed the challenges and constraints encountered in the 
development of entrepreneurship, and made constructive proposals for 
creating an environment that is conducive to job-creation and youth 
employment. 
 
c) exchanged experiences on the role members of the business 
community play in their respective geographical areas. 
 
d) agreed to establish a follow-up committee to design and implement 
a strategy that would lead to the development of entrepreneurship. 
The committee, which is composed of representatives from the Somali 
Business Councils, Women and Youth Associations and the United 
Nations, will be responsible for, inter-alia: 
-- developing and implementing Job Opportunities and Youth 
Employment strategy; 
-- proposing project documents focusing on the development of youth 
employment; 
-- mobilizing, monitoring and managing available resources allocated 
to the implementation of the youth employment strategy; and, 
-- assisting with the development of capacity building 
institutions. 
 
¶2. As a gesture of support to the Somali peace process and 
commitment to job-creation, the SBC decided to support short term 
youth employment and requested the Steering Committee to provide 
within 30 days concrete projects to be funded. 
 
¶3. The United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) organized 
and supported this meeting with the facilitation from the 
International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNDP. 
 
Djibouti, 22 March 2009 
 
Was this report useful?  Send comments and questions to 
SomaliaWatchers@state.sgov.gov. 
RANNEBERGER