By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
Mogadishu, 1 September 2026 - Hirsiyo Abdulle Siyad turned an idea to protect her children's health into SOMFresh Fruit, persevering through five years of losses, selling her gold and paying staff from her own pocket to keep her dream alive: providing Somalis with clean, high-quality fruit.
Speaking on the Irmaan Podcast on Dawan TV, Hirsiyo shared her journey, the challenges she faced and how a fruit-cleaning practice that began at home grew into a business.
The idea emerged in the early 2000s after a paediatrician advised her to watch what her children were eating after frequent illnesses.
She found that bananas and other fruit from the market carried dirt and grime. She began washing and properly storing fruit at home.
As she did so, green bananas ripened into yellow fruit with a pleasant taste. Mangoes and other fruit also ripened naturally.
Her brothers, who had come from Canada, encouraged her to turn the practice into a business after seeing the difference between market bananas and those prepared at home.
She did not bring the idea to market until 2013.
The start was difficult. Many were surprised by her bananas. Some assumed they were imported, others thought they had been prepared for export.
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Hirsiyo personally delivered bananas to restaurants and encouraged people to try them. She also entered a market dominated by men, particularly the wholesale banana trade in Bakara Market.
"Some traders would ask me, 'What are you doing here among us?'" she said. Their remarks did not deter her.
"It was the banana sellers who opposed me," she said.
The greatest challenge was financial. She operated at a loss for five years, aware the business was not profitable, but never considered quitting.
"For five years, I was making losses. I was covering the shortfall, paying the staff's salaries, and selling my gold to keep it going," she said.
That persistence made SOMFresh a recognized name in clean bananas in Mogadishu. Her ambition went beyond profit: she wanted younger generations to appreciate local produce, particularly Somali bananas.
Her story illustrates how a small idea rooted in health and hygiene can grow into a business, and how success can sometimes require years of losses, perseverance, continued investment, and an unwavering determination to keep going.