Category Archives: Somalia News

Somalia News

Challenges Of Access To Finance For MSMEs In Somalia

Access to finance for MSMEs in Somalia has become an issue since the state lacked an effective government to cater for the financial services. Therefore, the willingness to offer such exceptional services became paramount, leading to the emergence of private financial institutions in Somalia. A decade ago, a group of Somali businesspeople started financial institutions in Somalia to provide commercial financial services […]

Salaam Somali Bank to distribute $4million to Somalia’s best and brightest young entrepreneurs

Salaam Somali Bank has announced that $4 million has been earmarked for Somali entrepreneurs between 2022 and 2024 to ‘kick-start’ economic growth in the Somalia economy at this year’s Mogadishu Tech Summit The Salaam Entrepreneurs Fund (SEF) aims to cultivate young Somali business people and support existing Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in the […]

Trends and Events in Africa 2018

Map of the REC Pillars of the African Economic Community. Photo Credit: Wikipedia

by Johan Burger 2018 has been an interesting year for Africa, with various events and trends becoming visible. 2016 saw the effects of the slowdown of China’s economic growth due to its rebalancing of its economy and the end of the commodity price super cycle. 2017 brought some relief. In Africa, 2018 demonstrated a number […]

Friday@Noon on the Horn of Africa: 2018

Africa-regions. Source: Wikipedia

by Johan Burger The NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies publishes a weekly newsletter on issues relevant to Africa. This paper is based on issues addressed in the newsletter. The Horn of Africa has increasingly become the scene of activity, driven not only by players in the region, but also from abroad. For the purposes of […]

More than Money: A Closer Look at Peace in the Horn

Over the past several months, the powerful winds of change have swept across the Horn of Africa, ushering in the possibility for lasting regional peace, stability, and security. On 14 November, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to lift the almost decade-long international sanctions on Eritrea, while two weeks ago, the leaders of Somalia, […]

Seeking an Enduring Solution to a Seemingly Intractable Problem: Another Look at Somalia

Somalia

Dr. Fikrejesus Amahazion Late last week, a High-Level Meeting on Somalia, co-chaired by Ethiopia, Italy, Somalia, and the United Kingdom (UK), was held in New York. The meeting, which was also attended by Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, Moussa Faki, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Osman Saleh, Eritrea’s Foreign Minister, and other international representatives, […]

New UK support for long-term stability in Somalia. The international community needs to develop strategic and tactical plans to help Somalia to ensure security in the region.

Prior to the civil war, Mogadishu was known as the "White pearl of the Indian Ocean" [1]. Waagii hore Mogadishu - Xamar Caddey. 1980 year. Author Maxamad.

Prime Minister Theresa May said that the international community should help the African Union defeat al-Shabaab. In this big problem, Somalia needs to be helped to ensure long-term stability in this country. The UK has extensive experience in supporting the African Union and assisting Somalia in rebuilding its police and military forces after decades of […]

Somalia to Implement Oil, Mining Framework

An agreement on terms has been made by the federal government and the federal member states of the National Security Council. The agreement comes after three years of deliberation. It will see the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources managing the sector. The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of the Federal Republic of Somalia […]

Somalia: First Internet Exchange Point

Ministry of Post, Telecom and Technology is facilitating the establishment of Somalia’s first Internet Exchange Point (IXP) in Mogadishu (MogIX). The IXP will allow local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to connect their networks and exchange Internet traffic locally, providing high-bandwidth and low-latency access. Nisha Goburdhan, an IXP expert from Packet Clearing House (PCH), said a […]

Somalia: For 2018, growth is projected to increase to 3.1 percent from an estimated 2.3 percent in 2017, and inflation is expected to ease to under 3 percent from around 5.2 percent in 2017

The Somali authorities and the IMF reached a staff-level agreement on a new 12-month Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) covering the period May 2018-April 2019 (SMP III). The IMF supports the authorities’ initiative to reach out to donors to mobilize the needed support and funding to launch a new national currency. IMF staff welcomes the authorities’ continued […]

In Somalia massive livestock losses have severely impacted livelihoods and food security

In Somalia massive livestock deaths due to drought –  60 per cent of herds in some areas – have severely damaged pastoralists’ livelihoods. The livestock losses threaten to exacerbate the country’s food security situation, which remains critical in the central and northern pastoral areas, FAO warned today. With forecasts pointing to below-average rains during April-June, […]

Innovate Ventures Re-Runs Successful Tech Accelerator for Somali Start-ups

Innovate Ventures (Innovate.so) is running for a second year their highly successful tech start-up accelerator – The Innovate Accelerator. Launched in partnership with VC4A (https://VC4A.com), Telesom and Oxfam as part of Work in Progress! project, Innovate Accelerator saw over 180 applications submitted for last year’s inaugural cohort. This year the accelerator has promised to be […]

Will Piracy Return In The Gulf of Aden And The Indian Ocean?

Piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean started in 2005 by Somalia pirates and reached its climax in 2011 when they have attempted to hijack 237 vessels and at year’s end, seized 11 vessels, keeping a total of 216 people as hostages. At the time pirates used to make on average 2 million […]

EU and CARE support renewable energy and road sector in Somalia

Today, the Somali Education Authorities, together with the European Union and CARE International, launched a 3.8 million Euro project in Kismayu on vocational and higher education to train people in jobs related to road infrastructure and renewable energy. The launch took place at the Presidential palace in Kismayu in the presence of the President of […]

Drought is Driving Food Insecurity in East Africa, Says FAO

Strong El Niño weather event that ended only last year and poor erratic rainfall in recent months is driving food prices high causing food insecurity in East Africa region. Local prices of maize, sorghum and other cereals are near or at record levels in swathes of Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Uganda and the United […]

IMF Report Indicates Drought in Somalia will decelerate Economic Activities in 2017.

Somalia has marked important milestones in rebuilding its economy and normalizing relations with international financial institutions, over the past five years. However, IMF’s 2016 IV consultation shows that impact of drought in Somalia will decelerate its economic growth from 3.4 percent to 2.5 percent. In 2012, Somalia emerged from nearly two decades of civil war. […]

Statement by the IMF Mission on Somalia

During the visit, the team met with Finance Minister Mohamed Adan Ibrahim; the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdirahman Yusuf Hussein Aynte, Central Bank Governor Bashir Issa Ali, Director General at the Office of the President Ali Omar, and other officials An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Mohamad Elhage visited Nairobi from […]

New GSMA Report Sees Rise in Mobile Broadband and Smartphone Adoption across Middle East and North Africa

Mobile Helping to Grow Innovative New Services, Connect the Unconnected and Create Employment Across Diverse Region Mobile broadband networks will account for 61 per cent of mobile connections by 2020, up from 41 per cent today, across the diverse Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, according to a new GSMA report published today at […]

PumpMakers Launches Platform for DIY Solar Pumps in Africa

In an attempt to help reduce the global water shortage, strengthen the local economy, create jobs and prevent migration from rural areas, PumpMakers GmbH have successfully installed ‘do-it-yourself’ (DIY) solar pumps in Africa and Europe. Operational since 2012, these DIY pumps are the creation of Austrian well builder Dietmar Stuck, who has been active in […]

Counter-terrorism measures threaten money sent home by Somali diaspora, UN rights experts warn

The vital flow of remittances from diaspora countries into Somalia is under threat as a result of necessary, but inadequately thought-through counter-terrorism measures. United Nations human rights experts have warned that the measures risk severely affecting the human rights of the people of Somalia, and have urged the governments of the United States, the United […]

Artificial fish habitats along Somali coast to benefit coastal communities

FAO, working with the European Union, has just completed the deployment of 25 “fish magnets” along Somalia’s 3,300-km coastline, a move that will boost the nation’s small-scale artisanal fisheries. The Fish-Aggregating Devices (FADs) consist of a floating buoy and “habitat mat” a few metres across. Plant life quickly grows under the mat, attracting large numbers […]

Dubai Chamber launches report at Africa Global Business Forum around non-commodity sectors

Co-Investment with Private Equity funds, purchase of private equity businesses, and direct buyouts most significant modes of FDI entry for Gulf investors interested in Sub-Saharan Africa DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, November 18, 2015/APO (African Press Organization)/ — – Buamim: Our new study and presence in Africa a pledge of support for UAE and GCC investment- […]