Hargeisa, Somaliland - Migrant returnees and stakeholders in Somaliland are now better equipped to understand market determinants, as well as generate and implement business ideas.

IOM Hargeisa completed a six-day ‘Training of Trainers’ programme as well as a three-day follow-up training on ‘Start and Improve Your Business Idea’. The latter is a management training programme developed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) with a focus on starting and improving small businesses in emerging economies.

The training has a three-tier structure comprising a master trainer licensed by ILO, trainers and the end beneficiaries.

The master trainer upskilled the capacity of 12 participants, including IOM staff, government stakeholders and implementing partners.

During the follow-up training completed on 24 July, participants qualified to become trainers for a group of 33 migrants newly-returned from Libya who are now equipped with basic business skills and knowledge on how to generate and develop business ideas.

Knowledge, motivation and experiences play a significant role in the reintegration process, contributing to the achievement of sustainable reintegration. 

The training was done as part of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa which facilitates safe and voluntary return of stranded migrants from transit and destination countries. Since the programme’s inception in 2017 288 migrants have safely returned to Hargeisa and the surrounding areas in Somaliland.

The type of assistance they receive is in most cases provided in the form of an individually-tailored package granted in kind to returnees and, where applicable, to their family members.

As such, effective counselling, along with the provision of accurate information allow for the EU-IOM Joint Initiative to tailor assistance to each migrant returnee. This can be done through supporting the generation of business ideas, the set-up of small business and the re-entry of the migrant returnees into the local labour market.

According to one of the participants, Khalif: “The training allowed me to acquire practical skills such as creating a business plan, understanding financial planning and how to link beneficiaries with financial institutions.”

The EU-IOM Joint Initiative facilitates orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration management through the development of rights-based and development-focused procedures and processes on protection and sustainable reintegration. The project, funded by the EU Trust Fund, covers and has been set up in close cooperation with a total of 26 African countries.

For more information, contact Amy Edwards, Email: aedwards@iom.int