On a crowded street in Mogadishu, Fatima, a livestock trader, doesn't deal in cash. Instead, she coordinates a sophisticated export network to the Gulf entirely on her phone. She's not an outlier she's a pioneer in one of the world's most innovative and overlooked markets.
For too long, the world outside the continent has viewed Africa's more than 50m displaced persons through a narrow humanitarian lens. We see tents and aid trucks, not consumers and innovators. Institutional capital has followed suit, ignoring a massive, concentrated, and underserved market generating billions in annual economic activity. This perspective is a profound misjudgment of one of the 21st century's most significant opportunities for market transformation.
For better or worse, the old model is collapsing. Traditional funding sources have retreated from providing support, including a 44 drop in G7 aid commitments alone. While challenging, this is a potential turning point. There is now a funding vacuum, presenting a major opportunity for market-based solutions that can deliver development outcomes alongside sustainable commercial returns.