# Somali tech start-ups: directory

> Somali delivery, taxi, shopping and other app start-ups we can source, with founding year, city and source.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/businesses/tech-start-ups-directory/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## About this list

Most Somali apps are built on mobile money, which lets customers pay by phone without a bank card. Delivery, taxi and online shopping firms started in Hargeisa and Mogadishu from about 2017 ([Disrupt Africa, 8 March 2019](https://disrupt-africa.com/2019/03/somali-delivery-startup-gulivery-adds-e-hailing-services/)). The largest digital services are run by the phone companies, such as Hormuud's [WAAFI](/en/businesses/waafi/) app; these are listed in the [telecoms directory](/en/businesses/telecoms-internet-and-media-directory/). Many start-ups close or change name within a few years, so a row gives the year the source reports.

## The list

| Company | Type | Founded | City | Owner or head, and status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Gulivery](/en/businesses/somali-delivery-taxi-and-shopping-apps/) | Delivery app, later motorbike taxis | 2017 | Hargeisa, then Mogadishu | founded by a couple who returned from London; added e-hailing in 2019 | [Disrupt Africa, 8 March 2019](https://disrupt-africa.com/2019/03/somali-delivery-startup-gulivery-adds-e-hailing-services/) |
| [ZIQQI](/en/businesses/somali-delivery-taxi-and-shopping-apps/) | Online shop | late 2017 | Hargeisa | first city Hargeisa, February 2019; also Somalia, Rwanda and Mali by June 2019 | [Hiiraan Online, June 2019](https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2019/Jun/164393/ziqqi_taking_africa_by_storm.aspx) |
| [Dhaweye](/en/businesses/somali-delivery-taxi-and-shopping-apps/) | Taxi app | March 2019 | Hargeisa | 2,080 drivers signed up by September 2019 | [Radio Ergo, 16 September 2019](https://radioergo.org/en/2019/09/popular-online-taxi-firm-employing-more-than-2000-in-hargeisa/) |
| [Guurdoon](/en/businesses/somali-delivery-taxi-and-shopping-apps/) | Marriage app | October 2022 | Mogadishu | launched by the Guryosamo family development centre; $1 sign-up fee | [AFP via The Star, 22 June 2023](https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2023/06/22/somalis-search-for-love-online-but-dont-call-it-dating) |

For how start-ups reach people without smartphones, see [How start-ups reached people on basic phones](/en/forces/how-startups-reached-people-on-basic-phones/).

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