In the displaced communities and across wider Somalia, except for household roles, there is limited opportunity for mothers to train their children at the household level. Peer to peer learning is limited to formal settings, the youth competence skills are weak and gender biased in favor of male youth. Further, there is limited access to ICTs due to high poverty incidence which is limiting the ICT adoption and competence development and girls are marginalized and lack empowerment opportunities to live independent lives. Education and health service provision is vital for communities to stay productive and responsible in nation building. Integration of ICTs in education and health provision would ensure inclusiveness and improve accessibility to all. In addition, engaging mothers in the provision of education to their children promotes access to education and would create opportunities for mothers, and communities to guide curricular development.

The Innovation Challenge:
TRAN is looking for innovations that promote family and community centered education to accord mothers and other community members a platform to extend their teaching to children beyond informal and household chores. There is need to create community learning and information platforms for members especially for youth who missed formal education and those out of school. Targeted groups will need to be availed with convenient schooling times and a social media platform to further facilitate development of their skills sets through discussions and peer-to-peer learning. ICT training is expected to be a priority because of the increasing value of ICT skills in development. The number, experience, and skills of diaspora returnees is seen as a potential resource to be tapped into to empower community members with livelihood skills and information, and to prepare the youth for future responsibilities.

Examples of innovative ideas could include:

• • Innovative family and community centered education that mothers or other community members teach to children
• Innovative community learning platform where information is availed including from radios, television and internet/ newspapers.
• • Innovations that target youth who missed the formal education
• • Innovative ways of targeting the out-of-school youth
• • Avail convenient schooling time in an innovative manner
• • Avail social media platform that can be accessible to all
• • Innovatively engaging Diaspora returnees
• • Empower community members with livelihood skills innovatively
• • Innovatively prepare girls for future responsibilities

This livelihood diversification challenge targets specifically the hides and skins sector. Somalia is a big exporter of fresh/raw hides and skins yet there is an untapped natural resource of salt at the sea. There are no existing hides and skins value addition initiatives like factories in the target communities of Somalia to add value to the hides and skins, to process the key ingredient salt at the sea, or even related value chain points like leather tanning cottage manufacturing and soap making from the hides and skins by-products. As a result, there is need to diversify activities in the hides and skin business sector. The proposed innovation calls for community based inclusive livelihood diversification initiatives that would promote community integration, create opportunities for business financing that create start up and growth of multiple enterprises around the hides and skins sector in Benadir region

Due to a lack of mechanisms for value addition, the Benadir community pastoral farmers do not gain extra income from cattle products (hides and skins). Hides do not find markets because they are not processed and yet the animals are poorly handled with less regard to the resultant quality of the hides and skins that would fetch additional incomes through higher prices both locally and elsewhere. Further, the region is blessed with natural salt deposits of the ocean which, if utilized, would yield a vibrant diversified life around animal skins and hides.

The innovation challenge:
This innovation challenge is premised on the need to spur diversification especially among the women and youth in the Benadir region. The challenge envisages value addition points that will attract community women and youth to be engaged in processing of the hides and skins, salt extraction from the ocean which would have ready market to be used in processing and leather tanning among other related value chain stages. Processing points are envisaged to serve not only value addition but also promote technology transfer. The Value Addition Points (VAPs) are proposed act as collection and bulk producing points for the processed products. Produce bulking will enable small scale subsistence based outputs to create critical bulk that can compete in larger markets. It is envisioned that VAPs could be managed by women and youth groups identified by the target communities. The VAPs could also serve as a platform for demonstration of entrepreneurship skills. VAP resource persons will help participating women and youth to identify opportunities for livelihoods diversification beyond the hides and skins products. Through continuous quality improvement and bulking, it is hoped that the VAPs will drive the improved products from these regions forward to create market recognition

Examples of innovative ideas could include:

- Innovations in creating sustainable community based Value Addition Points (VAPs) as a joint venture between civil society and communities
- Innovative ways of rallying new or other stakeholders to contribute to setting up similar VAPs to service other communities
- Innovation on how to create a contributions and incentive based system for bulking of livestock by-products that would be otherwise potentially wasted
- Locally appropriate technologies that increase unit outputs of skins and hides to create value out of currently un-competitive hides and skins from Benadir pastoralists
- Locally appropriate technologies for leather tanning to create value out of currently wasted livestock skins
- An innovative model for branding and marketing of locally produced cheese, other dairy products, and hides
- Innovative businesses model around energy sources to power local value addition
- An innovative model for diversification to other businesses for youth and women (e.g. solar to drive milk storage, solar charging, community tourism, local art and crafts, apiary, dry land agriculture)
- Innovative approaches to accessing savings services in rural areas
- Innovative approaches to creating financial social safety nets

The Benadir regions communities have limited information on the quality of inputs and where to purchase them which limits individual community members to purchase small quantities of often poor quality. Communities need to enhance their resilience by harnessing existing technology, becoming innovative and partnering to ensure increased agricultural productivity. There are very few training opportunities available and indigenous knowledge is heavily relied upon. Further, there are limited chances for individual farmers accessing agro-equipment, agro-inputs are expensive, and marketing of produce is individual based and subject to price fluctuations. This is further exasperated by the IDPs/ returnees who have no clear means of getting integrated back or into their host communities.

Climate and weather based information (early warning) is also not readily available to the agricultural communities and lacking such information affects their plans to undertake agricultural-farming practices like when to plant, weed, and harvest. Absence of such climate related information feeds into the systematic deficiencies related to storage facilities relating to moisture content in the atmosphere.

The innovation challenge:
This challenge calls for solutions that promotes community cohesion and resilience through technology innovation, partnerships and increased agricultural productivity. This challenge builds on the premise that Benadir region communities are facing challenges in accessing information on climate related early warning, quality inputs and providers as such is purchased at household level. This innovation challenge proposes availing climate information early warning data, mapping of quality input providers at discounted prices, institutionalizing field schools, and introducing international standards for exports. It also proposes partnerships to pull the resources together in purchase of expensive agro-inputs, in coordinated marketing, in stabilizing prices and avoiding market flooding, in increased social cohesion, in reduced social conflict in community bodies and in offering of social integration to IDP or returnees; all of which may offer opportunities for strengthening the resilience of the affected communities.

Examples of innovative ideas could include:

- Mapping of quality inputs and providers
- Benefit from the price discounting.
- Availing relevant climate related early warning information to farmers
- Institutionalized field schools by group members
- Providing access across the agro-produce value chain, for farmers to be exposed to internationally accepted standards
- Establishment of cooperatives or multi-stakeholder partnerships
- Joint investment
- Collective/joint marketing, storing, etc.