FAD Somalia Women's Market Access Innovation Challenge 2025
The Open Innovation Challenge is a pivotal initiative designed to enhance agricultural innovation and empower entrepreneurs in Somalia to solve the challenges Somali women farmers face in accessing markets.
📖 About the Challenge
Women in rural Somalia play a crucial role in agriculture but face significant barriers to market access due to:
- Inadequate infrastructure
- Limited financial resources
- Restricted access to agricultural land
- Systemic challenges
- Cultural constraints
These challenges limit opportunities for women-led agribusinesses to scale and thrive. Additionally, women entrepreneurs struggle with access to financing, business development services, and digital financial tools, further widening the gender gap in economic empowerment.
Key Support Initiatives
To address these challenges, the Rural Livelihoods Resilience Programme (RLP) and the Somalia Food Systems Resilience Project (S-FSP), implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MoAl) with support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and World Bank Group, aim to:
- Strengthen women's economic participation through entrepreneurship and financial inclusion.
- Improve access to credit and enhance market linkages.
- Provide capacity-building initiatives to equip women with the skills needed to grow their businesses.
- Leverage digital financial services to increase financial accessibility for women.
- Foster community engagement and policy advocacy to create an inclusive economic environment.
🏆 Benefits
Selected entrepreneurs will receive:
- Tailored business coaching
- Seed funding for product development
- Support in market access
- Networking opportunities
✅ Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Be legally registered, rural women-led enterprises, or businesses with at least 30% women in their leadership team.
- Have a scalable solution and a validated technological prototype to address the problem they are proposing to solve.
- Proposals should aim to achieve one or more of the following outcomes:
- Enhance women's access to agricultural markets.
- Improve the competitiveness of women-led agribusinesses.
- Establish sustainable market linkages through innovation and technology.
- Promote financial inclusion.
📅 Application Date and Process
- Deadline: August 31, 2025, at 5:00 PM Mogadishu time.
- Interested applicants can apply via the official application portal.
🌍 Opportunity Details
- Date Published: July 25, 2025
- Application Deadline: August 31, 2025
- Category: Entrepreneurs, Women
- Opportunity Location: Somalia
- Eligible Locations: Somalia
- Sponsor Organisation: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
🔗 Useful Links
This initiative is a significant step toward empowering Somali women farmers and entrepreneurs, fostering innovation, and creating sustainable market linkages. Don't miss the opportunity to be part of this transformative challenge!
- Tailored business coaching.
- Seed funding for product development.
- Support in market access.
- Networking opportunities.
