Salaam Somali Bank: Somalia's first bank since 1991

The short version

Salaam Somali Bank (SSB) is a privately owned Islamic commercial bank with its head office in Mogadishu. It was set up in October 2009 and says it was the first bank to operate in Somalia since the state collapsed in 1991 (Wikipedia, Salaam Somali Bank; Financial Fortune Media, 11 August 2023). It appears on the Central Bank of Somalia's register of licensed banks (Central Bank of Somalia, licensed banks).

Timeline

• 2009: the bank opens its first branches in Hamarweyne and Bakaara market in Mogadishu (Garowe Online, 1 June 2022).
• 2010: it launches DEEQTOON, mobile banking built on Hormuud Telecom's technology. Customers can deposit, withdraw, transfer and check balances by phone (Wikipedia, Salaam Somali Bank).
• 2011: it starts a free monthly microfinance programme. By 2021 the programme had supported 6,306 people, 41 percent of them women, with $7.5 million (same source).
• October 2014: Somalia's first cash machines open in Mogadishu, run by Salaam (BBC, 7 October 2014).
• 2023: DEEQTOON reaches about 400,000 transactions a day, the bank reports (Wikipedia, Salaam Somali Bank).
• July 2024: the bank brings in Visa debit cards and card machines (TechAfrica News, 17 July 2024). It also starts issuing the Waafi prepaid Mastercard through the Waafi app (Hiiraan Online, August 2024).
• 2024: it wins The Banker's Islamic Bank of the Year in the international category (The Banker, Islamic Banking Awards 2024).

Branches and services

• The bank reports 55 branches, 20 of them in Mogadishu (CIO Africa, 9 October 2023).
• Islamic finance products: murabaha (cost-plus sale), musharakah and mudarabah (profit-sharing partnerships), istisna (financing for things to be built), ijara (leasing) and qard hasan (interest-free loans) (same source).
• Accounts: current and savings accounts, including a Dalmar account for Somalis abroad, a Hajj and Umrah savings account and a student account. Accounts are also offered for aid agencies and charities (Salaam Somali Bank, archived 2014).
• Business banking: letters of credit, guarantees, trade finance and payroll. The bank uses the SWIFT network for transfers abroad (Wikipedia, Salaam Somali Bank).
• Housing: the bank was the only financier of Daaru Salaam City, a Mogadishu housing project of about 2,000 homes (same source).

Drought insurance for herders

In 2023 Salaam began offering livestock insurance with the World Bank and the reinsurer ZEP-RE. Premiums are 90 percent subsidised, and payouts are triggered by satellite readings of pasture. By March 2026 the scheme had enrolled more than 163,000 pastoralists and paid out $4.5 million (Devex, 3 April 2026).

Links to Hormuud

Salaam and Hormuud jointly fund the Hormuud Salaam Foundation, which works in education, health, skills training and emergency aid (Garowe Online). Reports describe the Waafi app as developed by Salaam with Hormuud, Telesom and Golis (Developing Telecoms, 2024). For the wider group, see Somali business groups. For all banks, see Banks in Somalia and Somalia's main banks.