[Business Spotlight] From refugee to CEO in Somalia, the story of Mohamed Bashir Osman

As part of our effort to bring more unique stories of Africans and its Diaspora to the fore, we bring you the second instalment of the Business Spotlight series. 

Twenty-seven-year-old Mohamed Bashir Osman, better known as Maxamed Midnimo, was born in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Like every Somali, he had to flee the early years of the country’s ongoing civil war to the Netherlands, where he grew up as a teenager.

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He studied graphic design and worked as a community educator there. He became an active member of the community and later a board member and chairman of the Somali community organization in Nijmegen, Netherlands.

One summer, on vacation to Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia, he saw several business opportunities in these countries. One of them in his field – advertising/design.

Finally, in 2012, Somalia began to recover from chaos. People started doing business and a lot of Somalis in the Diaspora started returning to the country. This inspired Midmino to move back and work on the opportunities he had identified on his vacation.

In 2013, he spent the year conducting market research and in 2015, with the help of family members, launched Daauus Creative Design Agency.

Daauus is now 2 years old, having celebrated its 2nd year anniversary in December 2017. From the very bottom, Midmino has built a burgeoning company that employs 13 people, among them designers, photographers, sales, marketing, office staff and security guards.

Midnimo says, “My dream was to start something that makes not only me happy, but my beloved ones as well. I may have come with the business idea, but no one can be successful without the help of passionate people who strive to help them realize their goals. Although it took sometime to find ambitious minds, I’m glad that I now have a team that believes in the business philosophy.”

Although Daauus won Best Marketer of the Year 2017 award by Goobjoog Business Radio in Mogadishu and this year’s Business of the Year in the International Somali Awards in London, Midnimo tells me, “I believe that we still have to do a lot in order to achieve the results we want.”

Midnimo is an inspiration to many young Africans, especially Diasporans who are looking to return and contribute to the motherland. Despite Somalia’s ongoing crisis, Midnimo is committed to making a change. 

Each week, we will share the story of one entrepreneur and the impact he/she seeks to make. We are especially excited to feature fresh, new faces and stories. If you are interested in being featured, kindly send us an email.