by SHARON MAOMBO
Business WriterWednesday August 10, 2022
The business communities of Somali and Uganda have held
first ever business summit as they explored potential trade opportunities.
In a two day event which started today in Kampala,
corporates and the business group from the region showcased their products and
services with intention to attract investors, partners and markets.
Somalia’s newly elected president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is
expected to attend the summit where he will lead private sector business
community exchange views on how to ease the cost of doing business between the
two countries.
One of the key participants at the summit will be money
transfer company Dahabshiil which has a presence in Uganda offering remittances
services to boost the economy.
Uganda is ranked among the top 10 recipient countries of
remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Dahabshiil is involved in several projects in the country,
one of which has provided seed capital to innovative start-ups founded by young
entrepreneurs in the region.
Other companies, including one of the largest Somali telecom
and internet providers, Somtel, e-Dahab mobile payments and Dahabshil Bank,
will be in attendance.
The event comes two weeks after Somali agree to resume
cross-border trade with Kenya.
During his visit to Kenya on July 16, President Mohamud and
his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta agreed on the resumption of Kenya Airways
flights to Mogadishu under an existing bilateral framework pending review.
Kenya has since began exporting miraa to Somalia following
efforts by the Ministry of Agriculture.