Private universities in Mogadishu: Indian Ocean, City, Horseed, Jobkey and more

In short

After the state collapsed in 1991, private groups opened universities in Mogadishu. By 2015 about 40 for-profit universities operated in Mogadishu alone (Times Higher Education, 2015). In August 2026 the federal education ministry said about 130 universities were registered in Somalia (Dawan, 26 August 2026); see Universities in Somalia. The largest Mogadishu ones (Mogadishu University, SIMAD, Benadir, UNISO, Jamhuriya, Zamzam) have their own pages. This page covers smaller ones.

Indian Ocean University (1993)

Indian Ocean University (IOU), in Somali Jaamacadda Bedweynta Hindiya, is described as the oldest private, non-profit accredited university in Somalia (Wikipedia).

• Founded: a group of Somali intellectuals set it up on 3 May 1993, when the national university had closed (same source).
• First students: September 1993, in business administration and nursing (same source).
• Campus: on the airport road at KM4, about 1 km from Aden Adde International Airport (same source).
• Registration: with the Ministry of Higher Education and Culture (same source).
• President: Samawade Ali-Dahir, as of 2015 (same source).

Horseed International University (2010)

Horseed International University (HIU) is a non-profit private university in Mogadishu, founded in 2010 (Wikipedia). It takes part in an international health education partnership led by RIT Croatia (same source).

Jobkey University (2011)

Jobkey University (Jaamacadda Jobkey) began teaching at the end of 2011, after more than three years of planning by intellectuals and diaspora members (Wikipedia). It is chartered and approved by the federal government (same source). Wikipedia gives 1,000 to 1,999 students and an admission rate of 60% to 70% (same source). Its motto is "Success Starts Here" (same source).

City University of Mogadishu (2012)

City University (CU) is a private, non-profit university founded in 2012 (Wikipedia). Its five colleges (same source):

• Humanities and Social Sciences: political science, public administration, law, English; an MA in international relations
• Agriculture and Natural Resources: agronomy, marine and fisheries science, animal science
• Engineering and Computing: civil engineering, computer science, cybersecurity
• Business and Administrative Sciences: accounting, economics; an MBA
• Health and Human Services: public health, social work with a mental health focus

Hope University

Hope University (HU) was founded in Hargeisa in 2008 by Najib Sheikh Abdulkarim as a non-profit, cost-recovering university for health, technology and management (Wikipedia). It also runs a Mogadishu branch (same source).

Others listed

Wikipedia's list of Mogadishu universities also includes Somali International University, Al-Imra International University, Daaru Salaam University, Abrar, Almaas, An-Nour, Global, Hormuud, Imam, Jazeera, Metropolitan, Mogadishu Polytechnic, Nile University of Science and Technology, Plasma, Qudus, Hano Technical University and Hansan Medical College (Wikipedia, List of universities in Somalia).

Read more

• Universities in Somalia
• Somali universities one by one
• Jamhuriya University
• Zamzam University
• University of Somalia (UNISO)