Via Ozy, an interesting look at investing in Somaliland: Hong Kong–based American business developer Robby Zirkelbach has set up small firms in South Sudan, Iran and North Korea. But Somalia was too risky even for the former U.S. Marine sniper with a stomach for adventurous investments, until he stumbled upon the country’s north, the self-declared Republic of […]
Read more »Via Ozy, an interesting look at Somaliland: When Jama Muse first heard about the prehistoric cave paintings at Laas Geel some 20 or 30 years ago, he didn’t think anything of it. Old rock art is cool, of course, but nothing to get out of bed for. Then a group of French archaeologists trucked in, […]
Read more »Via Frontera News, a look at the investment thesis for Somalia: Investing in Somalia might seem like a particularly crazy idea, after all the country is a byword for state failure and chaos. Civil war, piracy and terrorism have bedevilled the country for nearly 30 years and over time it has fragmented into several separate […]
Read more »Via Bloomberg, a report on growing investor interest in Somalia: Kenyan banks are competing against lenders from Gulf nations seeking licenses to operate in Somalia as the strife-torn country opens up the industry to international companies for the first time in almost half a century. Somalia’s central bank has held talks with KCB Group Ltd., […]
Read more »Via the United Nations’ Africa Renewal magazine, an updated look at Somalia: These days Somalis reminisce about life before the war. With a sense of nostalgia they reflect on the carefree days of swimming, picnics and cinema; when children were in school, the economy was growing and business was booming, providing jobs for thousands of […]
Read more »Via the Cipher Brief, an updated look at Somalia: Since Somalia’s independence in 1960, its relationship with the U.S. has been—for lack of a better metaphor—on a roller coaster that travels up and down dangerous steeps and performs sudden inversions that turn everything upside down. In other words, due to lack of formal and sustainable […]
Read more »