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Many investors are now seeing Somalia as an increasingly enticing market for investment as the country starts rebuilding itself from scratch/FILE

Kenya

Investors keenly eye Somalia opportunities

Many investors are now seeing Somalia as an increasingly enticing market for investment as the country starts rebuilding itself from scratch/FILE

Many investors are now seeing Somalia as an increasingly enticing market for investment as the country starts rebuilding itself from scratch/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, June 3 – After 22 years of civil strife and political turmoil, a new era has dawned on Somalia and the country is embarking on a dynamic path of political and economic renewal.

This is after the successful liberation of large territory from the control of Al Shabaab militia last year by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) which widened a window of opportunity for lasting peace in Somalia.

Many investors are now seeing Somalia as an increasingly enticing market for investment as the country starts rebuilding itself from scratch.

Simatech Shipping, one of the largest feeder service companies in the Gulf, the Indian Sub-Continent, Far East and East Africa, has started providing shipping services at Mogadishu Port in Somalia.

Container trade to Mogadishu, the country’s capital city, was suspended some years ago due to the political situation and the risk of piracy. With the absence of container services, traders have had to depend on break bulk operations using smaller vessels.

Simatech Shipping started its services at the port in January this year and has already invested close to Sh1billion.

Country Manager in Somalia Noaman Akram says things are looking bright and that this was the time for investors to venture into the country.

“We started looking at Somalia about a year and a half ago and my first visit to Mogadishu was in January 2012. We were motivated after being approached severally by many NGOs and UN organisations to offer logistics services at the port of Mogadishu. We went there and luckily enough we found good people who were ready to guide and support and encouraged us to kick off,” Akram said at an interview with Capital FM Business.

The firm has however urged banks especially from the East African region to take the lead adding that the significant requirement at this stage in Somalia is provision of financial services to allow easy flow of money.

Jazeera Palace Hotel is another investment in Mogadishu city according to the General Manager Justus Kisaulu. The investors saw the business potential in the country and took the risk.

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Despite the insecurity situation at the time, the five star hotel was constructed in 2010 and as Kisaulu says; they believed that there would be peace at some time in the country for faster economic growth.

The hotel officially started its operations in 2012.

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