At nine years old, Mohamed fled Somalia’s civil war. Years later, he made the decision to return, and through his work with young people, he witnessed firsthand the soul-crushing limbo of waithood – where two billion youth worldwide remain trapped between potential and opportunity. But Mohamed discovered something the development world had missed: waithood isn’t caused by skills gaps or lazy youth. It’s caused by what he calls the Trauma Tax.
Through his groundbreaking work in Somalia, Mohamed revealed that trauma operates like an invisible tax on human potential. Whether from conflict, poverty, or systemic exclusion, trauma rewires the brain for survival, making it nearly impossible to focus, learn new skills, or maintain employment. Traditional job programs fail because they ignore this fundamental barrier. His insight into the trauma-opportunity nexus demonstrates that you cannot solve waithood without addressing its hidden root cause.
As founder of the Iftin Global, Mohamed pioneered a systematic approach to ending waithood by eliminating the Trauma Tax. His “Eco-Social Model” integrates mental health healing directly into economic empowerment, proving that addressing trauma isn’t separate from solving waithood – it’s the prerequisite. The results: 83% reduction in depression, 98% job retention rates, and a blueprint for turning waithood into pathways of dignity for the 2 billion people living in communities impacted by conflict, stress and fragility.
Mohamed has been recognized as an Aspen Global Innovators Group Fellow and BMW Foundation Responsible Leader. His TED Talk on waithood, exploring how the Trauma Tax creates vulnerability to extremism, has reached over 1 million viewers. His research connecting trauma to economic stagnation has been featured in The New York Times, TIME Magazine, The Guardian, New York Review of Bookset NPR, and he has appeared on CNN et BBC, establishing him as a definitive voice.
Holding degrees from The Ohio State University (International Business Administration) and Boston College Law School (Juris Doctorate), Mohamed provides the frameworks leaders need to move beyond treating waithood’s symptoms to addressing its root cause.
