When Cash Failed, Connection Became Currency

How mobile money helped Somalia rebuild everyday financial trust, access, and resilience

By Abdikafi Farah

When Somalia’s central government collapsed in 1991, public institutions weakened, national infrastructure was severely damaged, the formal banking system struggled, and confidence in national financial systems declined. For many Somalis, money became something physical, fragile, difficult to move, and sometimes difficult to trust.

As confidence in the Somali shilling weakened and many transactions shifted toward the U.S. dollar, people needed more reliable ways to exchange value. In markets, shops, transport, family support, and business transactions, daily financial life required systems that could work even when formal infrastructure was limited.