About the Foundation
A Somali-led foundation built to close an economic gap
The Somali Women Economic Empowerment Foundation was established on 1 September 2026 to advance women’s economic empowerment, sustainable livelihoods, entrepreneurship, skills development, financial inclusion and women’s participation in productive sectors and in decision-making across Somalia.
Who we are
Founded to address a specific and persistent problem
SWEEF is a Somali-led, women-focused development organization committed to advancing women’s economic empowerment, sustainable livelihoods, entrepreneurship, skills development, financial inclusion, and women’s participation in productive sectors and in decision-making across Somalia.
Established on 1 September 2026, the Foundation was created because Somali women carry a substantial share of the country’s productive work — in fisheries, farming, livestock, trade and processing — yet remain systematically excluded from the finance, assets, markets and institutions that would allow that work to generate real and lasting income.
SWEEF exists to close that gap. It does so not through short-term relief, but by building the economic capabilities, enterprises and connections that allow women to earn, employ, invest and lead.
The challenge we address
Interlocking barriers that reinforce one another
Many Somali women and girls are unable to reach their full productive and economic potential because of barriers that hold each other in place. Limited access to:
Finance
Credit and appropriate financial services.
Productive assets
Equipment, technology and inputs.
Markets
Buyers and reliable market information.
Skills
Technical, vocational, business and digital skills.
Business development
Business development services and enterprise support.
Employment
Formal employment and decent work opportunities.
Networks & leadership
Professional networks, institutions and leadership platforms.
Why this matters for programme design
Because these barriers are connected, addressing any one of them alone rarely produces durable change. A woman who is trained but has no equipment cannot produce; a woman who produces but cannot reach a buyer cannot sell; a woman who sells but cannot access finance cannot grow. SWEEF’s model is built directly on this observation.
How we work
Practical, inclusive, market-oriented and evidence-based
SWEEF works alongside women, communities, government institutions, development partners, private-sector actors and financial service providers to convert skills and available resources into sustainable economic opportunities: stronger enterprises, higher incomes, employment and resilient livelihoods.
The Foundation believes that women’s economic empowerment requires more than training alone. Women need a combination of skills, productive assets, finance, technology, markets, information, networks, business development services and supportive institutions, delivered together and sequenced so that each element unlocks the next.
Through this approach, SWEEF seeks to ensure that women are not merely beneficiaries of development interventions, but become entrepreneurs, producers, business owners, employers, innovators, leaders and decision-makers who actively shape Somalia’s economic transformation.
Our vision
A prosperous, inclusive and resilient Somalia where women and girls have equal opportunities, resources, skills, financial access and voice to participate fully in economic development and to shape their own futures.
Our mission
To empower Somali women and girls with the skills, productive assets, financial opportunities, market access, technology and leadership capacity they need to build sustainable livelihoods, grow enterprises, increase incomes, create employment, and contribute meaningfully to Somalia’s economic and social development.
SWEEF pursues this mission through practical, inclusive, innovative, market-oriented and evidence-based programs that strengthen women’s economic capabilities and connect them to opportunities that endure.
Core values
Eight values that govern how SWEEF works
They apply to how the Foundation designs programs, manages resources and conducts itself with communities and partners.
Women’s empowerment
Women at the centre of transformation: as entrepreneurs, producers, employers and leaders, not passive recipients.
Inclusion & equity
Equal opportunity and meaningful participation, with deliberate attention to the most excluded.
Integrity & accountability
Transparency and ethical conduct, accountable first to the women and communities we serve.
Sustainability
Solutions that keep delivering value economically, socially, institutionally and environmentally.
Innovation
Technology, enterprise thinking and practical problem-solving applied to persistent challenges.
Partnership & collaboration
Working with government, communities, partners, financial institutions and the private sector.
Results & impact
Managing for measurable improvement, and reporting honestly, including what does not work.
Community ownership
Women and communities identify needs, design solutions and sustain results.
Theory of change
How we expect change to happen
SWEEF states its logic explicitly, together with the assumptions it depends on, and monitors those assumptions throughout implementation.
Because
the primary constraint on women’s economic participation in Somalia is not capability or effort, but systematic exclusion from the resources, systems and institutions that convert work into income and assets into growth.
Long-term strategic ambition
A credible, nationally rooted, internationally connected Somali organization
SWEEF aims to be recognised for delivering practical, scalable, innovative and sustainable solutions for women’s economic empowerment. Over the coming years the Foundation will develop, test and scale women-centred economic models across its priority sectors.
The ambition is not to provide short-term assistance, but to help build economic systems in which Somali women can start and grow businesses, access finance, enter markets, create employment, raise household income, strengthen resilience against shocks, and take their place in the decisions that shape the country’s economy.
On this website
SWEEF was established on 1 September 2026. Where this site describes activities, indicators or coverage, it describes what the Foundation is designed and mandated to do, not results it has achieved. No performance figures currently exist, and none are presented.
Work with SWEEF
Build the economy Somali women participate in fully.
The Foundation is seeking partners across government, development, finance and the private sector as it moves from establishment into delivery.