Electricity and water
Somali water companies: wells, piped water and bottled water
In Mogadishu, private companies drill wells and sell water through pipes, kiosks, trucks and bottles. In September 2026 the Banaadir administration said there were hundreds of water companies and wells in the city and began registering them and testing their water. Ijaabo Water (2004) pipes, bottles and makes ice in Mogadishu; Afi Water (2000) bottles water; the Somali Water Development Union Company (2017), formed by borehole owners, runs 24 boreholes; and Al Siha in Bosaso began as a bottled-water firm in 1997.
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).
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).
Companies
Several water firms borrowed through Shuraako, a lending programme of the One Earth Future foundation, which publishes a profile of each (Shuraako, clients).
- 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).
- 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).
- 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).
- Al Siha Enterprises was set up in Bosaso in 1997 to make purified water, and later added ice, laundry and fish (Shuraako, 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).
Related
Sources
- EUAA, Somalia country focus, 2025 · euaa.europa.eu
- Dawan Africa, 29 September 2026 · dawan.africa
- Shuraako, clients · shuraako.org
- Shuraako, Ijaabo Water · shuraako.org
- Shuraako, Afi Water · shuraako.org
- Shuraako, SWDUC · shuraako.org
- Shuraako, Al Siha · shuraako.org
- Radio Ergo, 16 July 2026 · radioergo.org
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Where this matters
- Muqdisho (Mogadishu) and BanaadirMogadishu (Muqdisho) is Somalia's capital and makes up the Banadir region, with about 2.97 million people in 20 districts.
- Hargeysa (Hargeisa) and Woqooyi GalbeedWoqooyi Galbeed is the north-western region that holds Hargeisa (Hargeysa) and the port of Berbera, with about 1 to 1.45 million people.
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