Start and Improve Your Business - Success Stories 2025
From survival to growth: Hinda expands her butchery business in Ethiopia
Hinda Mawlid Ahmed, a Somali refugee living in Ethiopia’s Somali Region, expanded her butchery business after participating in ILO-supported SYB training through a Business Plan Competition, enabling her to increase sales, create jobs and strengthen her role in the local market.
15 January 2026
Jijiga, Ethiopia (ILO News) - or Hinda Mawlid Ahmed, a Somali refugee living in Kebribeyah refugee camp in Ethiopia’s Somali Region, entrepreneurship has been a pathway to stability and dignity. A butcher for the past seven years, Hinda built her business despite a childhood shaped by displacement after fleeing civil war in Somalia.
A major turning point came when she participated in the ILO Business Plan Competition (BPC) under the ILO PROSPECTS programme. The competition provided both training and financial support, enabling her to expand her small butchery business.
“The Business Plan Competition (BPC) directly led to the growth of my business,” Hinda explains. “I now operate with two tables instead of one.” The 90,000 Ethiopian Birr award allowed her to significantly increase sales.
I previously could only sell a single goat each day. Now, my increased capital allows me to sell an additional goat and a cow or bull daily… my income has doubled.
Hinda Mawlid Ahmed
Beyond income growth, the training strengthened her business management skills. “Beyond the financial grant, the knowledge and skills I acquired through the training as part of the BPC have been invaluable. I am now proficient in managing my business,” she says.
Hinda’s success has also created opportunities for others. She now employs four women, from both refugee and host communities, contributing to local economic integration. Looking ahead, she plans to further expand her enterprise by purchasing a refrigerator and a meat-chopping machine and accessing loan services tailored for refugees.
Hinda’s journey shows how targeted entrepreneurship support can help forcibly displaced women not only grow viable businesses, but also create jobs and strengthen their communities.
