The Somali Shilling is now equal to the West African CFA Franc

[Bille]

Stop flexing the inflated artificial number caused by terrible “restructuring”, flex the 1:7 that SYL had and the 1:6 that Kacaan had before they broke with socialism

The Kacaan government kept inflation down despite having to go a big war against Ethiopia. For 20 years from 1969 upto 1989 our money had value, in fact the biggest bank not that we had was the 100 Shilling bank note.

It was only in 1989 that the Bank of Somalia decided to print out first time the 500 Somali Shilling bank note. That was when most Somalis realized that our Shilling was losing value, and 2 years later the government fall apart.

 

[Mohamedamiin120]

The Kacaan government kept inflation down despite having to go a big war against Ethiopia. For 20 years from 1969 upto 1989 our money had value, in fact the biggest bank not that we had was the 100 Shilling bank note.

It was only in 1989 that the Bank of Somalia decided to print out first time the 500 Somali Shilling bank note. That was when most Somalis realized that our Shilling was losing value, and 2 years later the government fall apart.

They seemed to have forgotten their own words- they were revolutionaries (no doubt) but they listened to the seductive words of the capitalist and were swept away!

 

[livinlavish]

1 dollar is 555 somali shillings.

yk what that acc good for a people who had a 40 year war

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

 

[Barkhadle1520]

Is the Somali shilling even used much in Somalia itself?

No most transactions are mobile money which uses USD

 

[iley]

Many do not know this but the valuation of the Somali shilling has grown over the past week (likely due to investors jumping ship from the Ethiopian Birr, which has been devalued consistency for the past year). I did not expect it to jump to the level of the CFA Franc- would be great if this was a permanent thing but I doubt it.

The jump is bigger then the jumps in 2022-2023, I would like to see the reaction from exporters before I comment on this (obviously, as we all know, exporters like a weaker currency while importers like a stronger one).
View attachment 375547

I dont think this shilling somalia is accurate. 25k is a dollar not 500 or whatever it says

 

[iley]

1 dollar is 555 somali shillings.

yk what that acc good for a people who had a 40 year war

No its 25k maybe higher this year not sure

 

[iley]

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

Kun aa u yar, kun aa u weyn

 

[caano_shaah]

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

 

[Afar indhood]

It's 29k shillings now. The shilling is rarely used even in Mogadishu. The notes are old and frail since they're printed on paper by random businessmen after the Civil War. Last printing was early 2000s.
The government is trying to introduce the new currency but there's no way anyone would be using notes printed by the most corrupt government in the world. And, since these notes are too frail and have already run out their lifetime, I'd expect we'd be forced to switch to another currency (Kenyan shilling or the birr) since mobile money transfer is not always reliable.
99% of purchasing is done via one company, Hormuud, and if someone were to hack them, all economic activities would cease in Southern Somalia (Hormuud is basically a mafia organization run by Salafi mercenaries that prevents competition and is a monopoly, and engages in criminal activities like buying Iranian oild/gas which could make the US freeze their assets like they did in early 2000s). No one seems to care about this potential social catastrophe. Everyone one here is too tired to even think about changing the status quo.
The prime Minister recently said that they are begging Kuwait for 40mil usd to print the money, yet he is also kicking out aid workers out of the country for refusing to give him 6 million dollars.

Things are not looking good.

 

[Mohamedamiin120]

It's 29k shillings now. The shilling is rarely used even in Mogadishu. The notes are old and frail since they're printed on paper by random businessmen after the Civil War. Last printing was early 2000s.
The government is trying to introduce the new currency but there's no way anyone would be using notes printed by the most corrupt government in the world. And, since these notes are too frail and have already run out their lifetime, I'd expect we'd be forced to switch to another currency (Kenyan shilling or the birr) since mobile money transfer is not always reliable.
99% of purchasing is done via one company, Hormuud, and if someone were to hack them, all economic activities would cease in Southern Somalia (Hormuud is basically a mafia organization run by Salafi mercenaries that prevents competition and is a monopoly, and engages in criminal activities like buying Iranian oild/gas which could make the US freeze their assets like they did in early 2000s). No one seems to care about this potential social catastrophe. Everyone one here is too tired to even think about changing the status quo.
The prime Minister recently said that they are begging Kuwait for 40mil usd to print the money, yet he is also kicking out aid workers out of the country for refusing to give him 6 million dollars.

Things are not looking good.

Uhhh last printing was from the 2010s until 2023.

They were printed in Sudan but obviously the war has halted that. https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2021/..._ex_somalia_central_bank_governor_claims.aspx

 

[Afar indhood]

Uhhh last printing was from the 2010s until 2023.

They were printed in Sudan but obviously the war has halted that. https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2021/..._ex_somalia_central_bank_governor_claims.aspx

Uhhh you are mixing up two different things.

The currency in circulation right now was printed by businessmen after the Civil War. There were multiple printings between rival businessmen/clans and three different currencies (N20, 500 shilin, kun shilin) - all printed after the collapse of the government. Only one currency (kun shilin) remains in circulation. Businessmen/clans agreed to stop printing and last printing was early 2000s.

The money that's allegedly being held in Sudan was a new currency that was intended to replace the old one - but since the government is corrupt and no one would use it even if they try to introduce it forcibly, it's sitting in that warehouse.

You have never been to Somalia, have you?

 

[Idilinaa]

It's 29k shillings now. The shilling is rarely used even in Mogadishu. The notes are old and frail since they're printed on paper by random businessmen after the Civil War. Last printing was early 2000s.
The government is trying to introduce the new currency but there's no way anyone would be using notes printed by the most corrupt government in the world. And, since these notes are too frail and have already run out their lifetime, I'd expect we'd be forced to switch to another currency (Kenyan shilling or the birr) since mobile money transfer is not always reliable.
99% of purchasing is done via one company, Hormuud, and if someone were to hack them, all economic activities would cease in Southern Somalia (Hormuud is basically a mafia organization run by Salafi mercenaries that prevents competition and is a monopoly, and engages in criminal activities like buying Iranian oild/gas which could make the US freeze their assets like they did in early 2000s). No one seems to care about this potential social catastrophe. Everyone one here is too tired to even think about changing the status quo.
The prime Minister recently said that they are begging Kuwait for 40mil usd to print the money, yet he is also kicking out aid workers out of the country for refusing to give him 6 million dollars.

Things are not looking good.

They’re not just reprinting the old counterfeit-style notes , the new Somali shilling will have advanced security features and modern tech behind it, designed specifically to restore confidence and make counterfeiting impossible.

The estimated cost is $70 million, of which $30 million has already been raised. They’re looking to Kuwait and others for support because the government doesn’t want to eat into its tight budget or pile on unnecessary loans and debt.

Corruption isn’t really what determines whether people accept a currency , what matters is trust in its security, utility, and backing by the central bank. If the new notes meet those conditions, they’ll circulate.


As for payments: Somalia’s financial ecosystem is far more diverse than people assume. EVC Plus is just one platform under Hormuud, but there are multiple operators across the country. There is no monopoly, and competition exists in both telecoms and mobile money. So payment goes through many different platforms.

If a new currency is introduced and integrated directly into the mobile money platforms, with a managed transition from dollars to the new currency, it could help stabilize and uplift the value of the local currency.

The accusations about Hormuud being a “mafia” or “mercenary outfit” are not accurate. Hormuud is a licensed company structured as a social enterprise where communities are stakeholders. They provide full disclosures and have consistently reinvested profits into education, health care, entrepreneurship, humanitarian responses, and infrastructure. They even support and invest in competitors, because a stronger ecosystem benefits everyone.

You can see this in their corporate social responsibility programs and their wider contributions:

- Hormuud CSR initiatives
- Study on CSR & financial performance

 

[Afar indhood]

They’re not just reprinting the old counterfeit-style notes , the new Somali shilling will have advanced security features and modern tech behind it, designed specifically to restore confidence and make counterfeiting impossible.
View attachment 375678

The estimated cost is $70 million, of which $30 million has already been raised. They’re looking to Kuwait and others for support because the government doesn’t want to eat into its tight budget or pile on unnecessary loans and debt.

Corruption isn’t really what determines whether people accept a currency , what matters is trust in its security, utility, and backing by the central bank. If the new notes meet those conditions, they’ll circulate.


As for payments: Somalia’s financial ecosystem is far more diverse than people assume. EVC Plus is just one platform under Hormuud, but there are multiple operators across the country. There is no monopoly, and competition exists in both telecoms and mobile money. So payment goes through many different platforms across country.

View attachment 375675

The accusations about Hormuud being a “mafia” or “mercenary outfit” are not accurate. Hormuud is a licensed company structured as a social enterprise where communities are stakeholders. They provide full disclosures and have consistently reinvested profits into education, health care, entrepreneurship, humanitarian responses, and infrastructure. They even support and invest in competitors, because a stronger ecosystem benefits everyone.

You can see this in their corporate social responsibility programs and their wider contributions:

- Hormuud CSR initiatives
- Study on CSR & financial performance
View attachment 375676
View attachment 375677

I have told you before. You can't cite Hormuud's own site and their igu-sawir propaganda to me. Anigaa Xamar ku nool, tan iyo sagaashan kii. You are just some diaspora caruur that bases her entire perspective about Somalia on half-truths from so called "sources" online. You don't know the reality on the ground. You are no different than this kid who thinks Google exchange rate of Somali shilling is accurate.

99% of people in Xamar use hormuud's evc plus in their daily transactions. Very rarely do people use other services.

There are monopolies in almost every area of business in Xamar. Tell me, why wouldn't there be one in the most corrupt nation on earth?

How could anyone trust money printed by the FGS? Have you ever been to Somalia? Do you know how things work here?

Horta adiga yaa tahay? I really can't understand qof Somali ah without knowing their qabiil.

 

[Idilinaa]

Uhhh you are mixing up two different things.

The currency in circulation right now was printed by businessmen after the Civil War. There were multiple printings between rival businessmen/clans and three different currencies (N20, 500 shilin, kun shilin) - all printed after the collapse of the government. Only one currency (kun shilin) remains in circulation. Businessmen/clans agreed to stop printing and last printing was early 2000s.

The money that's allegedly being held in Sudan was a new currency that was intended to replace the old one - but since the government is corrupt and no one would use it even if they try to introduce it forcibly, it's sitting in that warehouse.

You have never been to Somalia, have you?

After the collapse, it wasn’t “businessmen printing” that flooded the market , it was primarily warlords, militias, and even the Ethiopian war machine that pumped counterfeit notes into circulation to fund themselves.

In fact, the Somali business community and Islamic courts/religious leaders were against it. They outlawed counterfeiting and openly refused to use or legitimize those fake print runs:

Counterfeited the Somali Shilling

Warlord printing shops in Bosaso, Mogadishu, Hargeysa and Baidao are in engaged in the manufacture of false Somali currencies which is designed to fleece the hard earned money of the Somali business community. The money making shops split the profit with the warlords and with robbers of the weak...

www.hiiraan.com

As for the currency printed in Sudan, that was done on proper advanced presses (by a German company) and with security features designed for modern circulation. The rollout was postponed because financial institutions and the central bank were too weak at the time to support it.

The current plan to issue new notes around 2026 is a different situation entirely. The groundwork has been laid this time:

• Somalia’s external debt has been resolved.
• The central bank has been restructured and strengthened.
• Financial institutions are more robust.
• Every new note will be backed by equivalent reserves to guarantee its value.

So unlike the chaotic post–civil war era, this is being handled deliberately and with safeguards in place.

 

[Idilinaa]

I have told you before. You can't cite Hormuud's own site and their igu-sawir propaganda to me. Anigaa Xamar ku nool, tan iyo sagaashan kii. You are just some diaspora caruur that bases her entire perspective about Somalia on half-truths from so called "sources" online. You don't know the reality on the ground. You are no different than this kid who thinks Google exchange rate of Somali shilling is accurate.

99% of people in Xamar use hormuud's evc plus in their daily transactions. Very rarely do people use other services.

There are monopolies in almost every area of business in Xamar. Tell me, why wouldn't there be one in the most corrupt nation on earth?

How could anyone trust money printed by the FGS? Have you ever been to Somalia? Do you know how things work here?

Horta adiga yaa tahay? I really can't understand qof Somali ah without knowing their qabiil.

I have explained the reason why i use sources: It helpful to back claims and to separate opinion from evidence

To your point i have to always back what i say with receipts and show folks outright because they will deny it otherwise, come with condescending skepticism and argue against it if i just plainly say how things are. People have either very low opinion or very biased point of view that prevent them for seeing things in a balanced way.

I also come with links/reciepts because it becomes more impersonal, less anecdotal and more factually rooted, that's what i like about this forum set up , it allows for this.

They are not a mafia, its completely baseless slander you are spewing. I cited a study on their Corporate Social Responsibility which is key feature in how Hormuud operate. . They operate as a social enterprise with corporate social responsibility embedded in their model. This isn’t “igu-sawir” propaganda, it’s been studied and documented:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/373939293_ROLE_OF_CORPORATE_SOCIAL_RESPONSIBILITY_IN_THE_FINANCIAL_PERFORMANCE_OF_HORMUUD_TELECOM-MOGADISHU-SOMALIA

The screenshots I shared about their contributions come from an independent magazine publication:

https://fivemagazine.so/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Social-responsibility-Hormuud-.pdf

That’s why Hormuud actually enjoys a positive reputation among people in Xamar and nationwide. If they were untrusted, people wouldn’t use their services, they’d be boycotted. Instead, like many Somali corporations, they act as social enterprises and work under strict ethical guidelines.

EVC Plus is no doubt one of the most popular platforms since it was among the first, but its market share has diminished as more competition entered. So it’s wrong to claim “99% use only Hormuud. Today, people also use Edahab, Sahal, Zaad, MyCash, Jeeb, T-Plus, SoPay, Ebasa, Premier Wallet, Yeel Pay, etc.

Because there are so many competing mobile money services and banks, Somalia even created a national payment switch to connect them all:

Somali Payment Switch (SPS)

sps.so

The private sector is not where corruption lies, that’s mainly in the public sector. Somalia’s businesses are backed by one of the most Sharia-compliant, ethical financial systems in the world, which is why they’ve gained recognition globally.

And finally, being a large company with a strong market share does not equal a monopoly.

I’ve explained this many times before:

There’s no monopoly in an open market. If you enter, you compete , you provide better service or you lose.

Having a larger market share doesn’t equal a monopoly. Market dominance usually comes from offering better services, investing earlier, or having customer trust. A monopoly, on the other hand, means blocking others from even entering the market and that’s not the case in Somaliland. Competitors like Solteco, Somtel, SomCable, and even newer players like Bluekom exist.

BLUEKOM | Official Website

Bluekom is a leading fixed wireless internet service provider with the widest network coverage. We offer both residential and business Internet plans. Our business is to connect people with no compromise. Always on, always fast that is our mission statement in providing pure...

bluekom.net

View attachment 374847

So if you lose customers to another company, that’s on you. Not proof of a monopoly and definitely not proof of your made up alcohol fantasy or that bajaaj scenario.

Three companies do not monopolize or even control everything that is untrue. I know which companies you are talking about that are in the Money transfer and Telecom like Hormuud or Dahabshil. Why is it not true? because the Fintech/Telecom sector has many other major companies across the country , they even exist in the same spaces and its highly competitive, that's why Somalia has the cheapest calling rates in the region and the competition drives people to deliver better services and innovate so they don't lose out to their competition. Monopoly is anti competition which is completely the opposite of how Somalia's private sector functions.

This actually gained exposure during Starlink's entry into Somalia which made headlines:

It's soo competitive that the Telecom companies have developed intense rivalries, almost akin to the rivalry between Apple and Microsoft, but instead of 2 companies its multiple ones.

Now some companies might have a larger market share but that doesn't come from even monopolistic practices.

It's really comes through delivery of cheaper prices, better services to increase turner over. You can see this with Somalis businesses across East Africa.

It's the same in every sector, like i mentioned a yesterday in my response to @Maintainnnin about the seed sector why it's particularly strong is because it has like 12 different companies competing.

Now the biggest one out of the bunch is obviously Filsan , but it's clearly not monopoly at all. There is very little preventing anyone from entering into any market except that you have to compete and build from the ground up to match them. If there can be 10 leading companies in Telecom, 13 in the commercial banking sector etc they have branches across Somali cities and regions. It shows you that its highly competitive private sector.

 

[Idilinaa]

After the collapse, it wasn’t “businessmen printing” that flooded the market , it was primarily warlords, militias, and even the Ethiopian war machine that pumped counterfeit notes into circulation to fund themselves.

In fact, the Somali business community and Islamic courts/religious leaders were against it. They outlawed counterfeiting and openly refused to use or legitimize those fake print runs:

Counterfeited the Somali Shilling

Warlord printing shops in Bosaso, Mogadishu, Hargeysa and Baidao are in engaged in the manufacture of false Somali currencies which is designed to fleece the hard earned money of the Somali business community. The money making shops split the profit with the warlords and with robbers of the weak...

www.hiiraan.com

View attachment 375681

The adoption of the dollar as the legal tender was a smart move on the part of the Somali business community. They effectively countered corrupt and traitorous politicians, warlords, and the Ethiopian-backed effort to bankrupt and rob them by flooding the market with counterfeits. This decision brought currency stability, reduced inflation and devaluations, and wiped out the counterfeit trade. It was the nail in the coffin for warlords and helped pave the way for true Somalis to begin rebuilding their country.


What we see today, after its adoption, is exactly what this 2006 article predicted:

 

[Espaa_]

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

Idk this is from google

 

[Afar indhood]

The adoption of the dollar as the legal tender was a smart move on the part of the Somali business community. They effectively countered corrupt and traitorous politicians, warlords, and the Ethiopian-backed effort to bankrupt and rob them by flooding the market with counterfeits. This decision brought currency stability, reduced inflation and devaluations, and wiped out the counterfeit trade. It was the nail in the coffin for warlords and helped pave the way for true Somalis to begin rebuilding their country.


What we see today, after its adoption, is exactly what this 2006 article predicted:

View attachment 375691

The dollar is not the 'legal tender'. There's no 'legal tender' because there is no 'legal system'.
The dollar is used because it is the most practical option.

Adoption? Smart move? Community? Lol

 

[reer]

The dollar is not the 'legal tender'. There's no 'legal tender' because there is no 'legal system'.
The dollar is used because it is the most practical option.

Adoption? Smart move? Community? Lol

if there was a somali hasbara then @Idilinaa would be its leader.

 

[Idilinaa]

The dollar is not the 'legal tender'. There's no 'legal tender' because there is no 'legal system'.
The dollar is used because it is the most practical option.

Adoption? Smart move? Community? Lol'

Legal tender means the currency that must be accepted by law for debts and payments. While Somalia lacked a strong formal system to enforce this in the early 2000s, the Somali business community effectively made the US dollar the "de facto" legal tender. This was a smart and deliberate move.

Whether or not a formal declaration existed is irrelevant in practice, the community enforced it and sidelined corrupt politicians, warlords, and Ethiopian-backed counterfeiting.

The result was stability, reduced inflation, and the collapse of the counterfeit trade , exactly as predicted back in 2006.

if there was a somali hasbara then @Idilinaa would be its leader.

Loool this doesn’t prove I’m some Somali hasbara , it just shows ya'll are spamming nonsense out of resentment. I’m not doing propaganda for humanizing, contextualizing, and being informed about my people.