#PostRILx25 | Reflections on Building Local Humanitarian Innovation Ecosystem by Hana Kaise Abdi

Written By ADMIN

Bilow Capital is an innovation project supported by the Somali Response Innovation Lab through the FIRM Challenge 2024. In this piece, Co-founder and General Partner Hana Kaise Abdi—also a speaker at RILx25 on the “Local Innovation Ecosystems” panel—shares her insights on what it takes for a local innovation ecosystem to truly thrive.

To build local ecosystems that truly work, we must engage the people who understand them best — those on the ground. This means identifying the gaps that exist and co-creating solutions with local ecosystem players who live the challenges every day. Each year, Somalia receives over $2 billion in remittances from its global diaspora — vital lifelines that have long sustained families and communities. Today, we need to leverage a new generation of Somali diaspora angel investors that can transform that same flow of capital into a powerful engine for entrepreneurship and inclusive growth. Investing from their own people, back into their own country — channelling financial resources, expertise, and global networks into Somali-led enterprises.

In a humanitarian context, this shift is critical. To stem the growing flow of migration, Somalia must create opportunities for its youth to thrive at home — through entrepreneurship and the jobs created by entrepreneurship. By backing local ventures, these investors are helping build sustainable livelihoods, strengthen communities, and lay the foundation for a more resilient and self-reliant Somali economy.

At Bilow Capital, we don’t just talk about change, we build it.

From the heart of Somaliland, our team has spent the past 16 weeks working side by side with entrepreneurs — supporting promising SMEs to overcome challenges and become scalable, investment-ready ventures. Through the Bilow Venture Lab, and with the invaluable support of SOMRIL, we’ve helped seven determined businesses strengthen their foundations, improve governance, and refine their models for sustainable growth. Each founder’s journey reflects the resilience, ambition, and innovation driving a new generation of Somali enterprises toward long-term impact and investment readiness.

Our proudly homegrown innovation, the R.I.S.E Digital Investment Platform, is the first of its kind in the Horn of Africa connecting vetted, high-potential enterprises with diaspora angel investors. RISE isn’t just a platform; it’s a bridge between capital and credibility, transforming how frontier markets attract long-term, sustainable investment.

What we’re witnessing on the ground is clear: frontier markets across the Horn of Africa are not charity cases — they represent the next frontier for smart, high-impact capital. Local entrepreneurs are driving change with limited resources, proving that when investment meets innovation, it creates both measurable impact and sustainable returns.

To unlock this potential at scale, we need investors, donors and partners who can help mitigate risk while the RISE platform continues to take shape. Through co-investment in a dedicated SME fund, diaspora investors can gain the reassurance needed to back promising ventures, while institutional partners and donors can participate through alternative financing models — from blended and catalytic finance to Islamic-compliant structures. These models open a new path for donors and development partners to co-invest rather than simply grant, ensuring capital works harder, longer, and for greater shared value.

This is an invitation to move beyond aid and toward shared prosperity — to channel capital where it can build jobs, expand opportunity, and strengthen resilience, while building a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem that endures beyond individual projects. Together, we can pioneer a new investment narrative for the Horn of Africa — one grounded in trust, innovation, and inclusive growth.


To learn more:

ADMIN
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