Kismayo University was founded to enhance the skills and knowledge of the region's population. The economy is agriculture-based and the secondary backbone of the Kismayo economy depends on its fisheries. Skilled people fled the region as there has been civil war since 1991. Founders of the university, administrators and policymakers want to hold on to young people leaving the city to find higher education elsewhere. The founding of Kismayo University in September 2005, created 200 post-secondary spaces.[1] The obvious result will be an opportunity for university education for local high school graduates and adults who would like to continue their education in the region instead of going to Mogadishu, Hargeisa, or neighboring Kenya.