# Somali water companies: wells, piped water and bottled water

> Somali private water companies in facts: how Mogadishu gets its water, the 2026 registration of wells and water firms, and companies such as Ijaabo, Afi, the Somali Water Development Union Company and Al Siha.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/businesses/somali-water-companies/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## The short version

In Mogadishu, water is drawn from wells and sold by private companies. A 2025 report by the EU Agency for Asylum found that houses in the better-off, more secure districts often have piped water, used for cooking and washing, while people who can afford it buy bottled water or have large bottles delivered. In poorer and outer districts people rely on shallow wells, water kiosks, water trucks or donkey carts. Near the coast, wells are too salty to use ([EUAA, Somalia country focus, 2025](https://www.euaa.europa.eu/coi/somalia/2025/country-focus/21-mogadishu/213-socioeconomic-indicators)).

## Registration in Mogadishu

In September 2026 the Banaadir regional administration said there were "hundreds of companies and wells" in Mogadishu and that all had to be registered. Registered wells and firms receive certificates; their locations are mapped and their water is tested for physical, chemical and biological quality. Only firms that meet the rules may sell water. The official in charge said companies would no longer be able to set their own prices outside the procedures, and that some facilities accused of selling unsafe water had already been closed ([Dawan Africa, 29 September 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/banaadir-steps-up-registration-of-mogadishu-wells-water-companies)).

## Companies

Several water firms borrowed through Shuraako, a lending programme of the One Earth Future foundation, which publishes a profile of each ([Shuraako, clients](https://shuraako.org/wp-sitemap-posts-avada_portfolio-1.xml)).

- **Ijaabo Water**, founded in 2004 in Mogadishu, pipes water to homes and businesses and also purifies, bottles and makes ice. It runs on three diesel generators and 26.5 kW of solar power. A Shuraako-arranged loan paid for land, an 800 cubic metre tank and solar panels, which raised its storage by 380% ([Shuraako, Ijaabo Water](https://shuraako.org/clients/ijaabo-water/)).
- **Afi Water Factory**, founded in 2000, sells purified water, first in large bottles and later in small ones. A $413,547 investment paid for a bottle-making machine and 5.65 million bottle blanks and caps ([Shuraako, Afi Water](https://shuraako.org/clients/afi-water-supply/)).
- **Somali Water Development Union Company (SWDUC)** was formed in 2017 when individual borehole owners merged. It pipes water to homes and businesses in three districts from 24 boreholes, and in 2020 borrowed to switch them from diesel to solar to bring prices down ([Shuraako, SWDUC](https://shuraako.org/clients/somali-water-development-union/)).
- **[Al Siha Enterprises](/en/businesses/somali-fishing-companies/)** was set up in [Bosaso](/en/regions/bari/) in 1997 to make purified water, and later added ice, laundry and fish ([Shuraako, Al Siha](https://shuraako.org/clients/al-siha/)).

## Hargeisa

In Hargeisa many neighbourhoods were connected to the city's expanded municipal piped network in April 2026. Radio Ergo reported in July 2026 that donkey-cart water sellers lost most of their customers, and that a private water point which had supplied nearly 100 cart vendors was down to fewer than 10 ([Radio Ergo, 16 July 2026](https://radioergo.org/en/2026/07/hargeisa-piped-water-expansion-puts-humble-donkey-cart-vendors-out-of-work/)).

## Related

- [Somali electricity, solar and water companies: directory](/en/businesses/electricity-companies-directory/)
- [Electricity in Somalia](/en/economy/electricity/)

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