Postby Adan_1 » Mon May 14, 2007 8:28 am
Africa Analysis
DATELINE: HARGEISA
THE entrepreneurial people of Somaliland have set up half a dozen private airlines and telecommunications companies in the 12 years since they broke free from troubled Somalia. But Somaliland still does not have a commercial bank. In order to survive, most of its 3.5m people rely on OEhawala' money transfer companies, which have been getting bad press since the US started accusing them of funnelling millions of dollars to Osama bin Laden 's al Qa'ida network. Now Dahabshiil, the Horn of Africa's oldest remittance company, is on the path to becoming Somaliland's first fully-fledged commercial bank. Founded in Burao, Somaliland's second city in 1970, Dahabshiil has grown to become Somalia and Somaliland's biggest private sector employer, with over 1,000 staff. It has offices offering money transfer services in 34 countries worldwide, including 50 branches in Britain and 25 in the US.
It has also set up a postal system in Somaliland, a road and housing construction company and is a major shareholder in Somtel International, which operates 10 telecommunications stations in the country. The bulk of its business, naturally, comes from some 2m Somalis in the Diaspora, who are estimated to send $ 500m home each year. Commission on money transfers is as little as $ 3, 70% cheaper than rivals like Western Union and Moneygram.
Dahabshiil already operates a bank in southern Somalia, offering all the services that customers would ordinarily expect. Clients include half a dozen United Nations organisations, such as UNDP, UN High Commission for Refugees, UN Children's Fund and the World Health Organisation, as well as national and international aid agencies and the British Broadcasting Corporation.
But Dahabshiil's Somaliland clientele have, until now, been limited to savings and cheque accounts and facilitation of international payments for imports. However, Dahabshiil recently acquired a licenced foreign exchange in United Arab Emirates and east Africa, which will give the company access to international banking services, including the use of a standard swift code. This will give clients the option, where correspondent banks exist, to deposit remittances with an international bank for direct transfer to and from the existing Dahabshiil branches, including Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Bosaso and Burao.
