# Eastleigh: the Somali trading hub of Nairobi > Eastleigh's Somali economy in facts: how the malls began, their number and size, where the goods come from, money transfer firms, and where sources differ. Source page: https://calankii.com/en/economy/eastleigh-somali-business/ Last checked: 2026-11-12 Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com) ## The short version Eastleigh is an estate in eastern Nairobi. Somalis have lived there since Nairobi's early years, but its rise as a market came after 1991, when refugees with trading experience from Mogadishu arrived ([Neil Carrier, *Little Mogadishu: Eastleigh, Nairobi's Global Somali Hub*, Oxford University Press 2017, University of Bristol record](https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/little-mogadishu-eastleigh-nairobis-global-somali-hub/)). One account says Mogadishu's looted market was "reborn" in Eastleigh a few years later ([The New Humanitarian / Refugees Deeply, January 2017](https://newsdeeply.thenewhumanitarian.org/refugees/articles/2017/1/6/what-we-can-learn-from-the-little-mogadishu-migrant-hub)). ## How the malls grew Carrier's book describes the "malling" of Eastleigh: shopping centres built and filled by Somali traders whose networks reached **China, India, Thailand and the Gulf** ([Boston University African Studies, review of Carrier, 2018](https://bu.edu/africa/files/2018/10/Rodima-Taylor-bk-rv-offpr.pdf)). A typical mall is a large building divided into hundreds of small stalls, each run by its own shopkeeper ([LSE review, 15 September 2017](https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2017/09/15/book-review-little-mogadishu-eastleigh-nairobis-global-somali-hub-by-neil-carrier)). Investment from Somalis abroad is a key part of what Carrier calls the Eastleigh formula of big malls filled with small shops ([Refugees Deeply, January 2017](https://newsdeeply.thenewhumanitarian.org/refugees/articles/2017/1/6/what-we-can-learn-from-the-little-mogadishu-migrant-hub)). Named centres include: - **Garissa Lodge**, a lodging house whose rooms became shops in the early 1990s, the start of the mall model ([Carrier, *Little Mogadishu*, 2017](https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/little-mogadishu-eastleigh-nairobis-global-somali-hub/); [Eastleigh Voice](https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/garissa%20lodge/44438/eastleigh-from-a-small-city-estate-to-east-africa-s-commercial-centre)). - **Amal Shopping Plaza**, with more than 500 shops ([Bloomsbury, Global Sociology student resources](https://bloomsburyonlineresources.com/global-sociology-3e/student-zone)). - **Business Bay Square**, about **130,000 square metres**, one of the largest malls in East Africa ([People Daily](https://peopledaily.digital/business/the-reinvention-and-rise-of-nairobis-little-mogadishu/amp)). ## Size - Carrier gave "40-odd" shopping malls in 2017 ([Refugees Deeply, January 2017](https://newsdeeply.thenewhumanitarian.org/refugees/community/2017/01/12/the-misrepresentation-of-a-migrant-success-story)). - The local paper *Eastleigh Voice* counts at least **72 malls and more than 25,000 shops** ([Eastleigh Voice](https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/garissa%20lodge/44438/eastleigh-from-a-small-city-estate-to-east-africa-s-commercial-centre)). - About **200,000 people** come each day, and buyers travel from [Sudan](/en/diaspora/sudan/), Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia ([People Daily](https://peopledaily.digital/business/the-reinvention-and-rise-of-nairobis-little-mogadishu/amp)). ## Money transfer firms The Central Bank of Kenya's register of licensed money remittance providers lists several Somali firms at Eastleigh addresses, including **Taaj Money Transfer** (Shariff Centre, licensed 2 October 2015) and **[Kaah Express](/en/businesses/kaah-express-and-kims/)** (Kaah Building, licensed 22 October 2014), with **Juba Express** licensed on 10 July 2014 ([Central Bank of Kenya, directory, 2016](https://www.centralbank.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Directory-of-Licenced-Money-Remittance-Providers.pdf); [directory, November 2020](https://www.centralbank.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Directory-of-Licenced-Money-Remittance-Providers-Nov-2020.pdf)). The register dated 30 September 2026 lists Amal Express, Dahabshill Money, Iftin Express, Juba Express, Kaah Express and Tawakal Money; Taaj Money Transfer does not appear on it ([Central Bank of Kenya](https://www.centralbank.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Directory-of-Licenced-Money-Remittance-Providers-as-at-September-30-2026.pdf)). See [Tawakal Express](/en/businesses/tawakal-express/) and [Iftin, Juba Express and Taaj](/en/businesses/iftin-juba-express-and-taaj/). ## Sources disagree - **Number of malls.** About 40 in Carrier's 2017 count; at least 72 in *Eastleigh Voice* (sources above). - **What drove the growth.** Carrier stresses trade networks and diaspora investment; a 2017 Refugees Deeply essay argues the "success story" is often told without the refugees who work for low pay in the malls ([Refugees Deeply, The misrepresentation of a migrant success story](https://newsdeeply.thenewhumanitarian.org/refugees/community/2017/01/12/the-misrepresentation-of-a-migrant-success-story)). For the Somali community in Kenya, see [Somalis in Kenya](/en/diaspora/kenya/). For a Somali-founded Kenyan company, see [Hass Petroleum](/en/businesses/hass-petroleum/). --- I want to help with this: email hello@calankii.com. Fix this page: email hello@calankii.com with the page link and your source.