Boosting Yemeni Household Economy: The Contribution of Digital Platforms

Sawt Al-Amal (Voice of Hope) – Yasmine Abdulhafeez

The difficult living conditions experienced by many households in Yemen due to the conflict have forced numerous individuals, especially those who have lost their sources of income and had their salaries cut off, to start their own projects. These projects include selling traditional food, products, various tools for women, and other sources of income that help them cope with the high cost of living and improve their financial situation in a time when the prices of basic necessities such as food and clothing have reached unprecedented levels.

In recent years, social media platforms have been filled with various family-owned projects in different fields, including Yemeni and Arab meals, clothing, perfumes, incense, mobile phone covers, handmade bags, some food items, sweets, accessories, and more. These platforms serve as spaces to attract citizens to purchase their products, and the owners of these projects have successfully caught the attention of a large number of people through these platforms.

Many project owners and others affirm that without social media, especially Facebook and WhatsApp, they would not have been able to sustain their businesses, and their products would not have received any attention. Through social media, they have easily and cost-effectively promoted and marketed their project outputs, which has contributed to an increase in demand.

Um Jawad, the owner of “Queen of Pastries” project in Al Hodeidah Governorate, said, “Without social media, we wouldn’t have sold even a small portion of the meals we prepare.”

Um Jawad operates from her home, preparing various popular dishes and desserts to cater to many events and occasions for many years. She attributes her popularity to social media, which has helped her reach many citizens who eagerly purchase her delicious dishes that she skillfully crafts, as acknowledged by her customers.

She further adds, “When the Internet was cut off in the city, my work came to a halt, and there was no demand for the meals I used to prepare. Similarly, when my mobile phone was not functioning, and I couldn’t access social media for four days, the interest in buying the meals dropped to 10%.”

She continues, “Social media has contributed to increasing my income due to the growing demand for the meals. As soon as I post pictures of the meals I am preparing, many people contact me, expressing their desire to purchase many of them.”

She explains, “When I started my business, there was no WhatsApp, so I promoted my products through text messages to people whose numbers were saved on my phone. However, I didn’t succeed in getting customers; I only had a few, which wasn’t encouraging enough to continue my work. I resorted to distributing cards for my project at school events, but it was futile. However, when WhatsApp emerged, I started posting pictures in statuses, groups, and conversations, which significantly improved my income.”

The Importance of Promoting Products & Small Projects

Social media platforms have played a significant role in promoting products and small-scale projects. Many of these projects have expanded, gained popularity, and significantly increased their income after their owners utilized various social media platforms to showcase and market their products.

Social media platforms came at a time when individuals and families with small-scale projects faced difficulties in securing space in traditional media outlets for advertising and promotion, as well as the inability to afford the costs associated with such promotions.

These platforms provided a suitable and cost-effective marketing and advertising space for their products. It required them to download the applications of these platforms, create their own accounts, expand their networks, and easily share pictures of their projects and products without any financial payment.

Khadija Muallim, a resident of the Bajil district in Al-Hodeidah Governorate, is a skilled artist specializing in resin art. She explains that resin art entails molding a liquid chemical substance known as resin, which is mixed with an array of vibrant dyes. The result is a wide range of artistic creations, including accessories, mobile phone covers, medals, letters, car hangings, and more. Resin art is considered a form of manual craftsmanship.

The idea for Khadija’s project came from YouTube when she came across a video showcasing resin art in general. She decided to explore this art form and found that the tools necessary for working in this field were available in the Yemeni market. This served as a strong motivation for her to start her own project, which she named ‘Khadija Muallim Resin Art.’

Khadija’s work involves decorating mobile phone covers, printing images on the covers, designing medals and letters with and without names, and more. She recalls that social media platforms have contributed to the expansion of her work, as most of the demand for her products comes through these platforms.

She explains, “Initially, I used to showcase some of my works to office owners, and some of them would buy from me, while others would market them on my behalf. When I started using WhatsApp, I began sharing samples of my work, and I also created a Facebook page, which significantly improved my business.”

She emphasizes, “I received a great response from the followers on my page, and I received many orders. My business expanded, and the demand for my products increased.”

On the other hand, Um Kenan, a marketer of cosmetic products and women’s tools, says, “Through a post on Facebook in which she inquired about a post written on women’s bags, her merchandise gained popularity, and several women reached out to her expressing their interest in purchasing from her.”

The Role of Social Media in Boosting Household Economies

Regarding the role of social media in boosting the economy of productive households, Ahmed Hasan Al-Tayar, an economic communication expert, says, “Social media platforms have played a significant and positive role in marketing products of productive households, thus contributing to increasing their sales. This, in turn, has had a positive impact on their productivity, continuity, and growth.”

He continued in his interview with Sawt Al-Amal newspaper, “All of this aligns with the general objective of social media networks, which were established from a marketing perspective. Therefore, we can adapt the view that social media platforms, in all their networks, have enhanced the marketing of products from productive households.”

He added, “In our country, several economic, political, and external factors have contributed to the decline in the income levels of Yemeni households, leading them into poverty and deprivation. Economically speaking, the decline in household income is a result of the impact of the conflict, most notably the interruption of salaries. Undoubtedly, this has significantly reduced the income of households.”

Continuing his conversation with Sawt Al-Amal newspaper, he stated, “Yemeni households have adapted to their difficult circumstances, which has led to the emergence of activities by housewives from their homes, including homemade products, micro-projects, and entrepreneurial ventures. All of this is done within limited resources and with the support of the households themselves, meaning households bear the costs of activity and the continuity of work from their savings.”

Emphasizing his point, he said, “Resorting to social media networks for product marketing has been an encouraging and motivating factor for activity, yielding results in terms of sales and reaching consumers through easy methods.”

Al-Tayar said, “Social media platforms, with their marketing power, have not only influenced household production in terms of tangible material products or services, but they have also created relationships with the transportation, finance, and financial networks sectors.”

He continued, “As a result, household products have been able to easily reach consumers within or outside the city, as travel transportation teams or other delivery methods have facilitated quick delivery. Payment can be made through financial digital wallets without any significant obstacles.”

Al-Tayar elaborated, “The value and function of communication channels are linked to marketing, and therefore the advertising aspect, which represents a percentage of the product, with 30% of it being acquired by social media platforms. These platforms have advanced technology that enables them to reach the target audience. The ability to reach consumers, using various forms and techniques through platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram, Google, emails, and others, has contributed to boosting the economy of productive households.” 

He explained, “To assess the role of communication media in boosting national economies, we need to track the advertising spending on social media platforms by global companies. We will find that these platforms serve as their marketing arms for promoting their products.”

In conclusion, he stated, “Social media has enabled products, whether goods or services, produced anywhere in the world to reach their target audience. This has generated profits from industrial and service production activities with significant investments.”

Difficulties

Regarding the challenges facing productive families and small business owners in promoting their products through social media, Iman Thabit, who works in marketing incense and perfumes, says, “Slow Internet speed poses a major obstacle for many who rely on social platforms to advertise their products, especially since some areas suffer from deteriorating Internet service.”

She adds, “In addition to that, we face difficulty in providing electronic devices such as computers and modern phones, which would enable us to easily promote our products. The high cost of these devices has been a significant barrier to marketing our businesses and projects, especially when we are starting out.”

Aisha Saeed, a women’s clothing tailor, says, “Digital illiteracy is a significant challenge for many individuals, especially the uneducated, as they struggle to use communication applications.”

She adds, “Women, in particular, suffer from this problem, especially since customs and traditions in some families prevent many of them from using mobile phones or applications like Facebook and WhatsApp. They face difficulty in promoting their projects and products.”

Many small business owners and productive families agree that there are solutions that can be implemented to avoid any challenges they face in using social media platforms. These solutions include improving Internet quality by the government, organizing workshops and programs to eliminate digital illiteracy in the country, and supporting individuals and productive families with devices that enable them to market their products through various social media channels.

Regarding productive families and communication methods, Mohammed Qahtan, an economics professor at Taiz University, says, “Raising awareness about media and social media platforms plays an important role in driving the activities of productive families. At the same time, it transfers experiences and enhances cooperation and collective work in this type of economic activity.”

He emphasizes that this contributes to accelerating sustainable and balanced development, breaking free from the cycle of poverty and underdevelopment that hinders human capabilities, marginalizes the available potential in society, and keeps it away from the development witnessed in our current era. It deprives them of active participation and confines them outside the framework of enjoying the various advancements in human life. Instead, they resort to begging and live under the threat of poverty and famine.

He adds, “Yemen is facing the continuous conditions of conflict for nearly nine years, along with its devastating effects on the national economy. Investment has halted, and the lives of citizens have deteriorated sharply, described by international organizations as the worst humanitarian situation worldwide.”

He confirms, “One of the most prominent effects of the conflict and economic deterioration is the high rates of unemployment and poverty, estimated at over 80%. This indicates the absence of new job opportunities and the suffering of more than 80% of Yemen’s population from poverty. According to international organizations, over nine million Yemenis currently need humanitarian assistance, and if this aid declines, this large population will suffer from famine in the coming years.”

He continues, “Based on the above, supporting productive families and promoting the expansion and spread of this important economic activity becomes crucial. It is the most effective means to confront unemployment, poverty, and mitigate the risks of famine that currently threaten the lives of a significant percentage of Yemeni families.”

He explains that the government, private sector, and civil society organizations should focus on directing all forms of humanitarian support provided to Yemen towards economic activities, specifically by enhancing and expanding the activities of productive families. This will revive community development activities, especially rural development, and enhance their role in Yemen’s economic and social activity.