SOMALI BUSINESS INVESTMENT NETWORK
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SOMALI BUSINESS The Somali re-emergence in global trade creates immense trade and investment opportunities to explore. Somali adaptability shows in a dynamic private sector that contributed to the expansion of the economy by 3.7 percent in 2014, driven by substantial investment and growth in agriculture, livestock, and fisheries, and in the service industry, which includes telecommunications, construction, and transport. There has also been a substantial private investment in commercial activities, primarily financed by the Somali diaspora, and includes trade and marketing, money transfer services, aviation, education, and health. The Federal Government of Somalia has acknowledged the importance of investments and private sector development and diversification and is undertaking an ambitious reform program that will streamline the regulatory environment and investment process. There is hope for a new era of stability to establish the systems necessary to encourage foreign investment and formalize the private sector. With continued development of the enabling environment and technical assistance, there are opportunities for investment, particularly in agriculture, livestock, fisheries, renewable energy and financial services. The country’s resurgent private sector is uniquely situated to meet rapidly rising local and international demand for goods and services, and as it continues to engage with the global market, more significant financial and technical support is needed to match private sector efforts, and take advantage.
Somali Business Investment Network (SBIN)
SBIN brings together global investors and Somali businesses seeking investment. The network is open to all investors; donors, public and private sector investment funds, individuals, companies seeking to make investments, and financial institutions, and is mainly aimed at supporting Somali diaspora investors. The network is also open to all Somali businesses seeking financing and facilitators like investment advisors, chambers of commerce, and financial institutions. SBIN facilitates investments of all types, including equity and loans on commercial terms into growing and profitable businesses, and operates as a marketplace where investors and companies meet and transact. The Network is digitally enabled to facilitate interactions between investors and companies and works as a digital business angel network. This incorporates a marketplace, knowledge base, business mentoring and evaluation, and investment events.
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Opportunities Agriculture, Livestock and Food
Like any other country, Somalia needs capital to create economic, social and environmental impact. These sectors present particularly important opportunities.
Agriculture contributes to more than 60 percent of GDP, 80 percent of employment, and 90 percent of exports. It is an important sector to increase incomes and improve food security. There are opportunities to aggregate production, create consistent, high-quality supply and connect directly with export markets. There is also significant potential in food processing across a range of sub-sectors such as horticulture, livestock, and dairy. Although irrigated agriculture accounts for only 10 percent of cultivated land, the Shabelle and Juba rivers in the southern part of the country, and rivers in Somaliland, provide a swathe of underutilized productive land. Increasing productivity will require the collaborative efforts to test and take up new and improved technologies, and serious investments in infrastructure and markets.
Fisheries
The fisheries sector, widely acknowledged to have tremendous potential for successful expansion, is evolving to meet increasing world demand for fish. Somali waters, one of the last untapped fisheries resources, are some of the most diverse and profitable fishing grounds in Africa, teeming with schools of yellowfin tuna, blue marlin, dolphin fish, and sardines. In addition to having the longest coastline in continental Africa at 3,300 kilometers, there is over 10,000 km2 of inland water area with two permanent rivers, the Juba and the Shabelle, which render promising aquaculture potential. Estimates suggest that the country has the potential to produce 400,000 tons of fish per year, and players in the industry are gearing up to take their share of the $136 billion global seafood market. The growth of the fisheries industry is highly dependent on meeting demand for top quality products, which in turn depends on the capacity of Somali producers to meet global standards. There is an excellent opportunity for investment in the fisheries sector to capitalize on Somalia’s abundant fisheries.
Energy Expanding power generation capacity in the coming decades to match the growing business and population needs is crucial. A kilowatt-hour of electricity can cost as much as $1, one of the highest tariffs in Africa. Two decades of conflict destroyed much of the country’s power infrastructure, so current generation capacity is privately owned and distributed through micro grids. Diesel generators produces most of the electricity. However, most of the generators and distribution equipment is old and inefficient, resulting in lowquality electricity supply. Like all economies, Somalia requires affordable energy to power sustained growth. At present, the cost of electricity impedes the development of new industries and businesses and prevents existing companies from expanding. This opens the door for large-scale projects and creates the potential for improved power purchase agreements and cross-border trade.
Financial Services Banks in Somalia are multiplying. The formal banking sector attracts deposits of customers: business and individuals alike. Deposits have grown by 2.4 times since 2015, demonstrating a return of confidence in official institutions. The business environment has snowballed, and preparations for currency reform are underway to help strengthen governance. As part of a broader Somali reform initiative, the Somali government is preparing to reissue new Somali shilling banknotes, for the first time in 26 years, to restore confidence in the national currency and allow the central bank to start implementing monetary policy. In Somaliland, a new regulation requires all small mobile payments to be made using the Somaliland Shilling instead of dollars. Investments are in the pipeline, focused on rebuilding the national financial infrastructure and payments systems with the support of The World Bank. Formalization of assets, identity systems, accounting, and audits are also needed and provide a great opportunity for investment.
Growth in agriculture, livestock, fisheries and the service industry and a resurgent private sector have put Somali business at a turning point in terms of global trade. Here are businesses seeking at least $1 million in investment, with many others seeking an excess of $100,000.
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Somali Companies Somaliland Beverages Industry (SBI) & Lis Dairies SBI and Lis Dairies are producers and distributors of non-alcoholic beverages that opened in May 2012. Both companies have franchise agreements with The Coca-Cola Company for bottling and distribution rights in Somaliland and Somalia. SBI is the Coca-Cola bottler in Somaliland, producing and distributing carbonated soft drinks; Coke, Fanta, and Sprite, as well as Dasani mineral water.
Agriculture, Livestock & Food
Lis Dairies launched its operations in the latter half of 2017 and had signed a franchise agreement with The Coca-Cola Company in 2018 to pack and distribute juice and flavored milk in Tetra Pak paper, Sil, throughout Somalia. Sil is currently in the process of establishing a vertically integrated supply chain through Miiran, which will produce juice concentrates for SBI and Coca-Cola, partially sourced from an in-house guava plantation. Lis also has its private label of UHT milk, which is sold throughout Somalia and scheduled for launched in Ethiopia in May 2018. The funds raised will be used to inject much-needed working capital, upgrading production lines, procure new bulk water production lines, construct warehouses and expand of utilities. This will unlock a double-digit volume growth.
Moustapha Osman moustapha.osman@gsk-group.com +252 634 446 010 www.gsk-group.com
Boodhari Mills Boodhari Mills is a wheat processing company that aims to compete favorably with other leading wheat flour brands in the region. The company mills wheat grains into flour and then packages and sells them to wholesale distributors, grocery wholesalers or other food-related business. The overall industry is considered lucrative and will remain relevant in the years to come. The company expects a 35 percent return on investments. The funds will be used to set up a flour mill factory in Somaliland. abdinur@boodharigroup.com +252 2 0633391288 www.Boodharimills.com
Somali Lemon Co (SOLC) SOLC, a sister company of Al-Mizan, is leading Somali sesame looking to diversify into food processing and expand to new sectors in the food industry. After acquiring an export license from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, SOLC is now exporting dry lemon to new markets, including Canada. The funds will be used to purchase a lemon processing machine to export certified fresh lemon and lemon Juice with to markets in North America and Europe. ameadco@hotmail.com ameadco@yahoo.com +252 615 505 442/ +254 707 635 054
Blue Flag General Trading Company Continental Farms LLC Continental Farm is a pioneer in investment in agriculture and rangeland management in Puntland. The firm has identified six strategic value chains the including moringa, honey production and value addition, high-value vegetables, goat and ostrich enterprises and commercial fodder production. Continental Farm’s central operation unit is on a 1,000 Ha piece of land 45 km from Galkayo. Through the green economy model, the company is piloting sustainability of the environment and restoration of degraded lands. Its corporate and community approach will ensure that community members, mostly agro-pastoralists, benefit through access to clean water, planting of trees, access to markets for their produce, capacity development on sustainable farming and environmental management. The investment will fund production and infrastructure and capacity development and potentially benefit at least 1,000 agro-pastoralists annually. Said Firi firinandfirin@gmail.com +252 907 799 007
Hawte Co. Ltd. Hawte Co. has business interests in Tanzania and owns a cashew farm, ginger farm, and tiger prawns farm. The company wants to expand its operations in Somalia and develop banana plantations and associated infrastructure. The funds will be used to buy irrigation, processing, civil works and farm machinery, capacity building and as working capital. Suleiman Duale Suleiman@hawte.co.tz +254 788 221 703
Blue Flag is a Somali-owned international construction business firm with several branches across East Africa; Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan and Somalia. It also operates in the Gulf States, primarily in Dubai. Although Blue Flag focuses on construction projects in the Horn of Africa, it has diversified into agricultural production and processing, concentrating on thousands of hectares of farmland in Lower and Middle Shabelle region. Blue flag will use the funds to invest in land preparation infrastructure, farm machinery, irrigation equipment, storage facilities, and transport to increase production and income, thereby boosting the country’s economy. Ali Mohamed Mohamud blueflagtrdg@hotmail.com 00971501582383 / 00971555838936
Golden Cara Investments (GCI) Ltd. GCI is an integrated infrastructural developer with projects spread over eight years and four countries. The company delivers turnkey solutions, from consulting, conceptualization, implementation and knowledge transfer. Experience in crucial infrastructure development resulted in GCI’s concentration on Build-Own-Operate (BOO) projects that revived value chains. GCI intends to venture into BOO projects, initially targeting liquid and dry bulk cargo handling infrastructure. The investment will enhance Berbera Port’s dry bulk cargo handling capacity by 76 percent; from 150MT/hour to 1,005/hour, and silo and warehouse storage capacity; from 30,000 MT to 80,000 MT. In the first ten years, the Berbera Grain Terminal will handle an estimated 821,207.5MT of bulk cargo annually, with an expected internal rate of return of 41 percent. The port is targeting an estimated 1.4 million tons annually, as it will serve 105.2 million people in Somaliland, Somalia, and Ethiopia. Abdi Mohamed Hussein ahussein93@gmail.com +254 720 80 88 98 / 0711430686
Sentosa Marines
Sentosa Marines is a Somaliland based company that develops environmentally sustainable mariculture projects that create new revenue streams for local stakeholders while providing a solid return for investors. The company grows, processes and sells dried sea cucumbers using a unique low-tech, environmentally-sound model. It’s current focus is Somaliland, where they operate a small-scale sea cucumber farm in Berbera. Sentosa’s vision is to farm multiple species in multiple locations in a way that benefits local communities and the marine environment.
Fisheries
The investment will be used for the construction and development of an aquaculture facility to grow and sell sandfish, a type of sea cucumber using the latest technologies and best practice. The company has identified up to 2,000 hectares available to construct the aquaculture facility in Lawyacado, close to the border of Djibouti. This natural habitat could support a sea cucumber biomass production of more than 10,000 tons of low-density farming at any time. Continuous hatchery production incorporated with paddock rotation means that this area could potentially provide enough shallow water natural habitats capable of conservatively producing, 750 to 1,000 tonnes wet weight annually on a renewable basis. This amounts to more than 60 tonnes of dried products every year. .
Ahmed Youssouf admin@sentosamarines.com 61432500375/ 0633053879 www.sentosamarines.com
Muheeb Foodstuff Muheeb is an established food manufacturing and marketing company that operates from Somalia, Djibouti, and Ethiopia. Muheeb Foodstuff needs to expand its seafood division and establish fish processing and cold storage facilities and canning and aquaculture centers in Somalia. The funds will be used to set up an international standard fillet fish processing facility in Djibouti and five integrated factories in Diredawa and Djibouti. Mumin Abdirashid muheebsom@gmail.com +252 907 757 539/ +252 718 500 500
Somali International Fishing Company SIFCO is a Somali-owned and run seafood producer and exporter, and inspired by a new and unique vision on how the Somali fisheries sector must act and evolve to be sustainable in the long run and be of service to the Somali people. SIFCO promotes sustainable fishing practices, and improve food and economic security for a prosperous Somalia. The company aims to develop a vibrant fish processing and exporting business focused on the Middle East and Europe. The funds will be used to develop a cold storage facility and purchase fishing boats. Mohamed Daqane Omar sales@sifco.so / dhaqane1000@gmail.com +971 553 102 599 www.sifco.so
Benadir Electric Company (BECO) After the 1990 collapse of Ente Nazionale Energia Eletrica (ENEE), the only monopoly company responsible for electricity generation, transmission and distribution, smaller and less resourceful electricity suppliers emerged to replace it. These companies tried to satisfy the electricity demand but were unable to cover a fraction of it due to financial constraints, low capacity, and adequate machinery. Established on May 5, 2014, BECO formed after leading electricity companies in Benadir region united under one firm, capable of offering reliable, sustainable and affordable electricity to the growing market demand. It is the leading power company in Mogadishu and generates up to 35MW of electricity, with over 2.5MW of this generated from solar energy.
Energy
BECO aims to widen renewable energy reach and use both wind and solar energy to generate 20MW of electricity in Somaliland. Industry in the country is growing, but energy supply is not. The need for efficient power is high for commercial and residential purposes, and the US$ 7 million investment will facilitate the purchase and installation of a 5MW solar power system. Thus, this upgraded system will provide affordable energy to industries and reduce loss. Mohamed Sadiiq Sheikh m.sadiq@beco.so +252616563838 www.beco.so
Berbera Electricity Company (BEC) Berbera Electricity Company has been operational since the 1970’s. The company has since upgraded the power station and is currently the sole power supplier in Berbera. BECO aims to harness the abundant solar and wind energy resources available in the country, to supplement the power generation energy. The funds will be used to procure renewable energy equipment in the form of hybrid Solar and wind power system to supplement the existing diesel power generation of BEC. Solar and wind power potential in the region is significant and can contribute to electrical power demand supplied by BEC. Ibrahim A. Yaqub and Eng. Max Arte +252 633 333 318 / +252 633 739 065
National Energy Corporation of Somalia
NECSOM is the only operational power supply company in Garowe, Puntland and one of the largest electricity and energy service providers in Somalia. Since its formation in 2003, the company has delivered electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses. Investing NECSOM will lead to technical improvement of electrical service and gains in financial revenues for the businesses. The funds will be used to modernize and expand capacity to generate and distribute electricity. This will enhance services and expand consumption of electricity to customers. Eng. Abdiwahab Abshir Ibrahim abdiwahab@necsom.com +252 907 757 539 www.necsom.com
Golis Energy Co. Founded in 2004, Golis has worked to increase awareness and use of renewable energy in Somaliland, providing clean and affordable solar-powered electricity to households and businesses as an alternative to fossil fuels. The company offers a holistic approach to renewable energy; design, financing, installation, and monitoring for efficiency. Golis is responsible for most solar and wind projects in Somaliland and Puntland and has conducted energy missions in Ethiopia and Djibouti. Golis also installed the 560kw solar power system in the Somaliland presidential palace, Ministry of Energy and Minerals, and Ministry of Information. The company also installed more than 200 solar water pumps across Somaliland and made it possible for farmers to access finance to access solar water pumping sets. The funds will be used to procure a 40-foot solar container, 40-foot solar water pump container, water pipes, fittings, drip irrigation network, greenhouses, drilling rig, casing and maintenance and troubleshooting equipment for installed solar equipment. The funds will also be used to conduct agriculture and marketing training on farms. Ali Ahmed Abdi golis.solar.co@gmail.com / sayid.abdi@golisenergy.com +252 634 422 516 https://golisenergy.com
International Bank of Somalia (IBS) IBS is Somalia’s premier international global Islamic investment and commercial bank, with an entirely Shari´ah compliant portfolio of products and services. The bank provides retail, private, corporate and investment banking services. IBS aims to be the top bank in compliance, trusted by international investors, and a bridge to connect international organizations institutions and international investors and donors interested in Somali markets. The funds will be used to provide finance for small and medium enterprises and to invest in the real estate sector in Somalia.
Financial Services
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Partnership Somaliland Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture
Abdirizak Warsame& Abdullah Ahmed abdirizak.warsame@ibosbank.com / abdullah.ahmed@ibosbank.com +971 552 992 990/ +252 611 111 553 /+252 618 466 007 https://ibosbank.com
The Somaliland Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (SCCIA) was established in October 1993 as an independent entity. Membership is open to all businesses engaged in trade.
Kaah International Micro-finance Services
The Chamber aims to forge new bonds of commercial cooperation and opportunities between Somaliland and the world, and to make it a world class trade market. It provides guidance and assistance in businesses, market information, training and organisation of trade events and opportunities. The Chamber welcomes both local and international investors.
Established in 2013, KIMS was as the first commercially viable microfinance institution in the Somali regions. The company aims to provide a diversified set of commercially viable Islamic micro-finance services, prioritizing vulnerable women and youth. To date, KIMS has financed over 8,500 Somali small and medium enterprises. The funds will be used to develop a cold storage facility in Jubbaland. Dani Ibrahim +971 50 962 9797/ +971 4 260 2000 www.kimsmfi.com
Dahabshiil Group Dahabshiil is a multinational branded conglomerate which includes the largest African money transfer network, a mobile money provider and bank. We want to make a difference in people’s lives and give the next generation of SME a platform to demonstrate their business skills. The funds will be used for research and development. Jama Ismail Jama.Noor@dahabshiil.com +252 659 444 848 www.dahabshiil.com
Mohamed Shukri Jama & Ibrahim Ismail Elmi
National Investment Promotion Office (Sominvest) SomInvest is housed in the Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development. SomInvest is a one-stop center and the first point of contact for both foreign and local investors aiming to establish business in Somalia. SomInvest is the functional authority on investment promotion, facilitation, aftercare services and policy formulation and advocacy for the Federal Government of Somalia. Ubah Hamud uhamud@gmail.com http://www.mfa.gov.so/the-sominvest/
Somalia Chamber of Commerce and Industry
SCCI was established as private sector body to facilitate inward investments through partnerships and better legislation and improve and protect Somali private business internally and externally. SCCI lobbies for the improvement and empowerment of Somali local business environment and: • Develop the interests of private business and business community in Somalia. • Promote the investment environment in Somalia by branding Somalia abroad as the future economic hub of East Africa. • Organize local exhibitions and arrange the participation of Somali local business in the international fairs and shows. • Contribute to the Socio-economic development of the country. • Facilitate and arrange network opportunities and interaction of the Somali chamber members with local, regional and international business communities. • Collect and analyze data related to the business and production in the whole country. Hashim Duale hashim.duale@googlemail.com
SOMALI BUSINESS INVESTMENT NETWORK This publication is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of International Resources Groups (a subsidiary of RTI) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.