| When Mohamed Mahamoud Sheik returned to his hometown of Mogadishu after years of living abroad he noticed a problem. His father, his uncles, politicians, businessmen and others had to go to extreme ends to clean their suits. They had to take them abroad, to neighbouring Kenya. Mohamed, who's just 24 years old, quickly spotted an opportunity. He decided to open a laundry, which would not only dry clean people's clothes, but pick them up and deliver them too. He bought the equipment from Dubai, the US and Italy, and spent time at a friend's dry cleaning business in the Gulf to pick up skills. He says it was a struggle to find premises because so many people are rushing to start up businesses in Mogadishu that there's hot competition for space. Finding staff was a challenge, but Mohamed eventually found one man who worked in a Mogadishu dry cleaners more than 20 years ago. The local authorities have provided security. The city is still affected by suicide bombs and other attacks. Mohamed is not the only Somali to come home after years as a refugee. People young and old are returning to the safer parts of the country. But much of Somalia remains dangerous. It's by no means clear that the relative peace in Mogadishu will last, but ventures like Mohamed's offer some kind of hope after years of difficulty. |
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