How mobile money helped Somalia rebuild everyday financial trust, access, and resilience
Wararka Soomaaliya
When Somalia’s central government collapsed in 1991, public institutions weakened, national infrastructure was severely damaged, the formal banking system struggled, and confidence in national financial systems declined. For many Somalis, money became something physical, fragile, difficult to move, and sometimes difficult to trust.
As confidence in the Somali shilling weakened and many transactions shifted toward the U.S. dollar, people needed more reliable ways to exchange value. In markets, shops, transport, family support, and business transactions, daily financial life required systems that could work even when formal infrastructure was limited.
Faahfaahinta
Where formal systems weakened, people created alternatives. Trust became infrastructure. Hawala networks connected families, traders, diaspora communities, and people across borders. These systems were more than financial channels; they were social networks built on reputation, trust, and necessity.
Then telecommunications began to change the country’s financial possibilities.
Saamaynta
When Connectivity Became Financial Access
As mobile connectivity expanded, Somali users moved from basic voice communication toward digital services that supported payments, business communication, information access, and everyday transactions. Hormuud Telecom, which began operating in Somalia in 2002, became part of that transformation through communication services, mobile networks, internet access, and later mobile money. Reuters-republished reporting notes Hormuud’s 2002 operating history and states that Somalia’s first mobile money
Through EVC Plus, mobile connectivity became more than communication; it became a practical financial tool for everyday transactions.
Wararka.so waxay kuu soo tebineysaa wararka ugu dambeeyey ee Soomaaliya iyo caalamka. Si aad ula socoto wararkii ugu dambeeyey, booqo boggayaga.
