About

Mahad Wasuge is a researcher, teacher and blogger. His work over the last decade has focused on teaching and researching governance, justice and social services in Somalia.

He is best known as the founder of Somali Public Agenda. Having lived and grown up in Somalia at a time when there was no functioning government to provide basic public services, Mahad founded SPA to contribute to the understanding and improvement of governance and service provision in Somalia. To achieve this, SPA follows an interlinked three-step approach. First, SPA undertakes policy-oriented and evidence-based research. Second, based on the findings and policy recommendations of the studies, SPA helps design public policies, programmes and projects with the relevant authorities. Third, Somali Public Agenda offers short training courses to contribute to the building of administrative cadres that can deliver public policies and programmes to the community.

Currently, Mahad is the executive director of Somali Public Agenda. He manages the institution’s research, advocacy and training programs and projects. Mahad also serves as a coordinator at Tayo Translations, a SPA subsidiary company whose profits are channeled to the work of Somali Public Agenda. He also occasionally teaches public policy and administration courses at Mogadishu University.

Earlier in his career, Mahad worked as a researcher with the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies, a think tank based in Mogadishu. He also worked as a teacher at universities and a school in Mogadishu.

Mahad holds a Masters of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Roehampton in London. Prior to that, he earned a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Mogadishu University and has diplomas in law and English.

Mahad lives in Mogadishu with his wife and their children.