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Following Mobile Money in Somaliland Gianluca Iazzolino Rift Valley Institute Research Paper 4

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Following Mobile Money in Somaliland Gianluca Iazzolino Rift Valley Institute Research Paper 4 rift valley institute research paper 4 Following Mobile Money in Somaliland gianluca iazzolino rift valley institute research paper 4 Following Mobile Money in Somaliland gianluca iazzolino Published in 2015 by the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) 26 St Luke’s Mews, London W11 1Df, United Kingdom. PO Box 52771, GPO 00100 Nairobi, Kenya. the rift VALLEY institute (RVI) The Rift Valley Institute (www.riftvalley.net) works in Eastern and Central Africa to bring local knowledge to bear on social, political and economic development. the rift VALLEY foruM The RVI Rift Valley Forum is a venue for critical discussion of political, economic and social issues in the Horn of Africa, Eastern and Central Africa, Sudan and South Sudan. the author Gianluca Iazzolino is a PhD candidate at the Centre of African Studies (CAS) at the University of Edinburgh and a fellow of the Institute of Money, Technology and Financial Inclusion (IMTFI) at the University of California Irvine. His research focuses on Kenya, Uganda and Somaliland, focusing on ICT, financial inclusion and migration. RVI executive Director: John Ryle RVI horn of africa & east africa regional Director: Mark Bradbury RVI inforMation & prograMMe aDMinistrator: Tymon Kiepe rvi senior associate: Adan Abokor eDitor: Catherine Bond Design: Lindsay Nash Maps: Jillian Luff, MAPgrafix isBn 978-1-907431-37-1 cover: Money vendors sit behind stacked piles of Somaliland shillings in downtown Hargeysa, buying cash in exchange for foreign currency and ‘Zaad money’. rights Copyright © The Rift Valley Institute 2015 Cover image © Kate Stanworth 2015 Text and maps published under Creative Commons license Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 Available for free download at www.riftvalley.net Printed copies available from Amazon and other online retailers, and selected bookstores. B YEMEN a n Asebb b Caluula Ras Casayr e e l M a d nd A eb Qandala f Bargaal SeSerrddo ObokObok DJIBOUTI o Bosaaso ra TadjourahTaT djourah Tadjou f Laasqorey lf of l Ras Gu Djibouti u ains AyAysysaitait Artat G Maydh ount Xaafuun Saylac lis M Badhan Alili Sabieh Xiis Go Iskushuban Xaafuun DikhilD h Lughaya Ceerigaabo Berbera d Buula Xaawa Biye K’obe Qardho BandarbayleBandarbayle Baki Somaliland n Boorame Sheekh Ceel Afweyn Gabiley Mandheera Gar’adag a Burco Taleex Tog Wajaale DiDirree Dawa Xuddun l Jijiga HarshinHar inn Hargeysa Oodweyne Caynabo N a r t a m HararHarar Laascaanood A h Kabribehay Widhwidh H Garoowen a Buuhoodle AwAwareare u Eyl DhagaxbuurDhagaxbuur d u GashaamoGashaamo Fiq Burtinle P DanotDanot BokhBokh Jariiban SheygoshS n Galaadii GarboGarbo e Garacad Wardheer Gaalkacayo QabrideharQabridehar d a A Caabudwaaq u Imi g d ETHIOPIAETHIOPIA Cadaado o O R GodeyGodey a Dhuusamarreeb n K’K’elaelafofo Hobyo g G W an e a e le b Ferfer i G e si HargeleHargele ro Beledweyne Ceel Buur Xarardheere Ceel Barde W e b i S h a b e SOMALIA e Dolo AdowAdow Xuddur l e Buulobarde MandheeraMandheeMandheeraaandndhdheeraheeeraera Buula Xaawa Waajid INDIAN Luuq Jalalaqsi Ceel dheer Garbahaarrey Baydhabo Wanlaweyn Jawhar Cadallee Ceel Waaq Buurxakaba OOCEANC EAN Balcad Baardheere Afgooye 0 km 200 Diinsor Mogadishuu Qoryooley (Muqdisho)) InInterternationalnational W Marka e boundaryboundary b i Bu’aale J u DisputedDisputed boundaryboundary b b a Baraawe National capital Capital Jilib Afmadow Chief town Jamaame Other town or village Road Kismaayo Selected river Lake MAP BoundariesBoun are approximate gr Buur Gaabo © Rift Valley Institute 2015 ax KENKENYAYA Ras Kamboni Boundaries and names shown do not imply 2015 www.riftvalleyriftvalley.net.net endorsement by the RVI or any other body Map 1. Somalia Contents Summary 5 1. Introduction 8 2. Outlining Somaliland’s financial landscape 13 3. An overview of Somaliland’s telecom sector 19 4. Overcoming scepticism 25 5. Challenges and convergences 35 6. Conclusions 38 Glossary of acronyms, words and phrases 40 Bibliography 41 Maps Map 1. The Horn of Africa 3 Map 2. Somaliland 43 4 Summary Somaliland’s first mobile money platform was launched in 2009. Called Zaad—meaning ‘to grow’ or ‘to prosper’ in Arabic—it was started by the popular mobile phone company, Telesom. Zaad’s mobile money transfer service has since become a feature of a financial landscape hitherto dominated by Somali remittance companies. Today, Zaad has a profound impact on the way people in Somaliland save and transfer money, so much so that industry organizations such as the Groupe Spéciale Mobile Association (GSMA)—a global association of mobile telephone operators— view it both as an example of best practice in financial inclusion, and of the transformative potential of mobile money. This paper uses qualitative studies to examine the way Zaad is reshaping livelihoods and looks at the implications of its popu- larity for the relationship between state and non-state actors and its effect on Somaliland’s institutional framework. These studies challenge the dominant, technocratic view of mobile money by examining its neglected political and economic dimensions, shed- ding light on issues of legitimacy and trust and the relationship between the state and citizens. Far from being financial, the story of mobile money is instead a story of converging and conflicting narratives of statehood. Although Somaliland broke away from the rest of Somalia in 1991, it lacks formal international recognition as an independent nation state. As a result, no international commercial bank has offices there. But the history of its many remittance companies goes back to the 1970s, when hundreds of thousands of Somalis began sending money back home from jobs abroad, mostly in the Arabian Gulf. Zaad entered a market dominated by these well-established Money Transfer Operators (MTOs). It has since managed to outperform MTOs inside Somaliland, even in key economic sectors such as livestock and trade. Its success is widely attributed to Telesom’s business model and outreach strategy, as Summary 5 well as to Zaad’s flexibility, popularity with retailers, and the fact that its money transfers are free of charge. Zaad has grown because it uses US Dollars, meeting popular demand for hard currency in Somaliland. This helps people transfer and store US Dollars in Somaliland, giving them a mecha- nism to cope with a domestic economy whose volatility the state of Somaliland seems unable to address. In May 2015, following pressure from the government and Somaliland’s Central Bank, Telesom unveiled a new Zaad service in Somaliland shillings (ShSl). Its initial operations were limited. In rural areas, Zaad faces other constraints, with distribution and local perceptions of the service affected by several factors. Less reliable network coverage and network outages discourage people in rural areas from using it when other options like hard cash are at hand. Furthermore, Telesom’s customer policy requires ownership of an official identity card (ID) to use the service. Women in rural areas often lack official documentation, and even women who can use a male relative’s ID to open an account do not always do so, risking losing control of their money. Zaad is primarily viewed as an interface with the urban economy, being more popular with farmers travelling to town on market days to sell livestock or vegetables than with other rural inhabitants. In Somaliland there is a division between those people and organisations who use foreign currency and those who use local currency: the first is between the large-scale businessmen and international relief and development workers who operate in US Dollars and civil servants who are paid in Somaliland shillings by the state; the second is between urban inhabitants who use US Dollars and rural inhabitants who use Somaliland shillings. Businesspeople, employees of NGOs and other international organizations, and those with a sizeable flow of US Dollars from overseas, are more able to diversify their financial practices. Stuck within the shilling economy, most civil servants criticize Tele- som’s influence on currency use as excessive and have called for stricter government oversight of the company’s assets. Zaad is shielded from the Central Bank’s scrutiny because there are no local banking laws to regulate it. This is a reflection of the weakness of Somaliland’s state institutions. Civil servants 6 Following Mobile Money in Somaliland portray the popular use of the US Dollar as something that under- mines the sovereignty of the state. While nationalistic in tone, such anti-Zaad rhetoric is a projection of vested interests, and is sometimes connected to a historic loyalty to the rival heavy- weight of the Somali money transfer business, Dahabshiil, which originated in Somaliland and started operating internationally in the late 1990s. Importantly, Zaad has not replaced other MTOs, which continue to serve as a financial interface—in US Dollars—between Somaliland and the rest of the world. Within the territory, shil- lings continue to be the main means of monetary transaction with the state. This is being challenged by Zaad, which facilitates the internal circulation of dollars. Its apparent success in ‘banking the unbanked’, however, has yet to be properly verified. Despite its undeniable impact, many argue that true global financial inclusion will happen only when international banks open up in Somaliland. Summary 7 1. Introduction 1 Zaad is also a word This report charts the distribution of mobile money across the traditionally used by financial landscape of Somaliland. It focuses on the country’s first Somali pastoralists for a 1 group of items essential and, so far, only mobile money platform, Zaad, a service devel- for travel. oped by Telesom, the leading mobile phone company or Mobile Network Operator (MNO) in Somaliland. The report examines the way the Zaad service is reshaping business practices, as well as the implications of its popularity on the relationship between state and non-state actors, and the effect this might have on Somalil- and’s institutions.
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