In a tiny sweltering tin-roofed
shack tucked inside one of Mogadishu’s bullet-riddled neighborhoods,
two brothers, Ali Hassan and Mustafa Yare, sit hunched over one of eight
humming desktop computers. Together they show Nasteexo Cadey, a young
veiled student at Mogadishu University, how to set up her Facebook
account, browse YouTube videos and check her e-mail.
For the past few months business has been growing at the brothers’ Kobciye Internet Coffee, one of the several makeshift internet cafes that have emerged in Mogadishu since the Islamic militant group Al-Shabaab fled the city.
“I wanted a business,” Hassan says, “and this is something that I’m good at. I have skills in computers and IT.” With staggering unemployment and few opportunities for youth, any job is a good job, he says. The cafe costs around US$600 a month to run, and the brothers manage to bring in around $1,000 from their 40 or so daily customers, mostly university students.
Although Somalia’s internet penetration still stands at just above 1% of the population – similar to Afghanistan’s – demand in Mogadishu is growing rapidly. As in the rest of Africa, youth hungry for content, connectivity and change are driving the demand.
For the past few months business has been growing at the brothers’ Kobciye Internet Coffee, one of the several makeshift internet cafes that have emerged in Mogadishu since the Islamic militant group Al-Shabaab fled the city.
“I wanted a business,” Hassan says, “and this is something that I’m good at. I have skills in computers and IT.” With staggering unemployment and few opportunities for youth, any job is a good job, he says. The cafe costs around US$600 a month to run, and the brothers manage to bring in around $1,000 from their 40 or so daily customers, mostly university students.
Although Somalia’s internet penetration still stands at just above 1% of the population – similar to Afghanistan’s – demand in Mogadishu is growing rapidly. As in the rest of Africa, youth hungry for content, connectivity and change are driving the demand.
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