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Hargeisa, Somaliland – October 2025 – Today, Shaqodoon is launching NaMaqal, a first-of-its-kind solution that turns spoken Somali into text instantly. Built on years of experience with its Imaqal (“Listen to Me”) feedback platform, this new system makes it faster and easier for organizations to hear, understand, and act on community voices. Shaqodoon and Innovation Shaqodoon is a not-for-profit organization established in 2011 to provide sustainable solutions to youth employment and community development challenges in Somalia, Somaliland, and Kenya. Beyond education and livelihoods, Shaqodoon invests in a Technology & Innovation Unit—a team dedicated to designing digital tools that remove barriers between communities and institutions. From grievance redress systems to new digital platforms, the goal is simple: ensure every voice is heard, and acted upon. From Imaqal to NaMaqal For years, Imaqal has allowed communities to call in and leave voice messages with feedback, compliments, or grievances. With low literacy rates, voice remains the most accessible channel. But the challenge was scale: 1,500 to 3,000 calls came in daily, and staff could spend up to 15 hours transcribing and translating them. Critical feedback sometimes reached decision-makers too late. NaMaqal changes this. Each call is now automatically transcribed into Somali text, refined for clarity, translated into English, and made available for review within seconds—freeing staff to focus on action, not paperwork. How It Works When an audio file is submitted, NaMaqal takes it through a simple but powerful process: Clean the sound – noise and silences are filtered out. Transcribe speech – Somali speech is converted into Somali text. Polish the text – punctuation is added, filler words removed, and sensitive details redacted. Translate to English – making the feedback instantly usable by staff and partners.
What once required minutes of manual effort per call now happens in seconds. Staff remain part of the loop to review transcripts, correct errors, and strengthen the system over time. Why Dialects Matter Somali is a diverse language family. NaMaqal has been trained to support the most widely spoken dialects: Maxaa Tiri (Northern Somali): ~70% Maay: ~40% accuracy, improving fast Benaadir: ~5% Minority languages such as Bravanese, Ashraf, and Bajuni: <1% and others in development
Currently, these non-Maxaa dialects are underrepresented in NaMaqal’s Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) system. NaMaqal covers Maxaa speakers effectively, representing about 70% of Somali speakers. However, Maay performance stands at around 40% accuracy, largely due to differences in grammar and vocabulary compared to Maxaa. We are committed to further training the Maay model to achieve a more reliable and inclusive standard. Wider Impact NaMaqal has been designed for audio file processing. Organizations can either upload recordings through Shaqodoon’s secure web interface or integrate directly via API to process stored audio from their own systems. This makes it possible to: Analyze thousands of radio call-ins on drought, migration, or displacement, Transcribe parliamentary debates, court hearings, or citizen hotlines for transparency, Automate survey analysis by converting spoken answers into text, and create Somali transcripts to support the hearing-impaired.
By turning hours of recorded speech into searchable, actionable text, NaMaqal shows how listening at scale can transform the way institutions respond to communities. Recognition and Commitment This innovation has been years in the making. On July 1, 2019, Shaqodoon’s Namaqal solution was named a finalist for MIT Solve, a global competition that highlights innovations with worldwide potential. Today’s launch of NaMaqal is the realization of that vision: a Somali-built, Somali-first system that transforms feedback into action. Listening Better, Acting Faster For Shaqodoon, NaMaqal is more than a new tool. It reflects the organization’s belief that technology should break barriers and amplify voices. With this launch, Somali speech—in Maxaa is finally being turned into action, faster than ever before. Why It’s a Game Changer
Turns calls and voice notes into actionable text
Speeds up accountability and referrals
Helps NGOs and government respond faster
Enables real-time analysis of community needs
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