Somalia’s Financial Sector Gets Much Needed Boost as Bulsho Sacco Celebrates 2nd Anniversary and Official Launch
Mogadishu was a buzz with excitement on Thursday, 2nd 2025 as the Somali capital launched Bulsho Sacco Limited, a leading player in the nation’s financial sector. The ceremony was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister, Salah Ahmed Jama, alongside several top-level government officials and various ministers, highlighting the significance of the event and the national need for conversations on financial inclusion.
Two years after its inception, Bulsho has established itself as a leading and reliable financial partner to both individuals and businesses, earning the trust of its members for its fidelity and efficiency, and the admiration of industry players and competitors.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Abdirizak Ahmed Mohamed, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bulsho Sacco & Horseed Microfinance, exalted the benefits of the Sacco to the event participants, noting that social Saccos do not compete with banks in providing financial services, rather, they complement the initiatives put forth by banks and other financial institutions. He stressed that Bulsho Sacco is keen on alleviating Somalia’s widespread poverty, which currently stands at 54%.
He also mentioned that the team has held extensive consultations with financial cooperative experts in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Ghana, Egypt, South Africa and Kenya while crafting the perfect products and services for the country. He added that it took more than 3 years of research, studies and consultations for Bulsho Sacco team to find a unique financial system that is in accordance with Islamic Sharia, international financial regulations, local financial regulations, and the Somali culture.
“The social Sacco works on the general principle of cooperatives. In addition to increasing income for its members, it also creates financing opportunities that facilitate wealth creation. At the moment, we operate in Somalia where we have four active and operational centers, as well as in Kenya where we recently received a license to provide financial services,” he said.
The Sacco was formed to provide financial and social inclusion to the low income but economically active members of the Somali population. Bulsho is a Sharia compliant, member owned and non-common bond Sacco formed to provide affordable and quality Sharia compliant financial products and services to its members.
Bulsho’s second year anniversary represents a major milestone in the company’s journey and it indicates that its market entry strategy was sound. As a leading Sharia Compliant Savings and Credit Cooperative Society (Sacco) in Somalia, the positive performance by the company in the past two years points to a bright future where members borrow loans for business and entrepreneurship and for personal growth while pushing the Sacco’s portfolio up.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Salah Ahmed Jama, praised Bulsho SACCO community for their efforts in supporting economic growth and for empowering small businesses, saying that the Federal Government of Somalia always stands by such efforts that play a significant role in the social and economic development of the country.
“The country is on a development trajectory right now. We need brilliant ideas such as this to push us forward. As a government, we are creating an environment where businesses can thrive for more investment to flow in and for initiatives such as this to see the light of day,” he said, addressing guests.
Bulsho Sacco offers secure microfinance products for immediate, short and medium-term financing to its members. It owns and operates Horseed Microfinance, which is duly registered by the Central Bank of Somalia, to increase access to affordable finance and to provide an opportunity for long-term wealth creation to its members.
Bulsho Sacco offers financial products and services that are designed to enhance the living standards of its members. It provides business start-up capital, acceleration finance, investment and property financing. These products and services are targeted at its members, most of whom are farmers, livestock keepers, government workers, stakeholders in the transport and logistics sector, women focused products designed to increase their access to financing, private sector workers, the diaspora community and NGO/ development sector stakeholders.
Bulsho Sacco joins 25, 724 Saccos/ Credit Unions in Africa, with a membership of 41, 041, 889, total asset value of $8.6 billion, and market penetration stands at 11.5%. This is data as at December 2023.
Over the last two years, the Sacco has worked to enhance the capacity and skills of members so that they can participate in Sacco affairs and be better at managing their own financial affairs, it has facilitated the improvement of social and economic interests and conditions of the members and lastly, Bulsho has actively collaborated with other financial sector players and stakeholders with the aim of working towards the elimination of existing economic and social and financial disparity.
Within this period, it has overseen rapid membership growth running into thousands of members, regular monthly financial deposits by thousands of members, it has executed and extended affordable financing to more than a thousand members. As things stand, Bulsho Sacco currently accounts for direct and indirect job creation of up to 2,000 people. Apart from adhering to the financial sector regulations set by the Central Bank of Somalia, Bulsho Sacco’s governance systems are sound and in accordance with current industry standard. It is also an official member of the Somali Cooperative Movement Association of UDHIS and a full member of the African Association of Financial Cooperatives known as ACCOSCA.
Access to financing and financial inclusion is a point of conversation across the continent at the moment. Somalia is not any different. Large sections of the Somali community remain outside of banking and financial sector initiatives. This limits their involvement in development focused personal and commercial activities. It is a known fact that exclusion of certain categories of citizens from accessing financial instruments is a barrier to individual and communal development. From women, to SMEs, to the youth, to non-traditional enterprises; the ability to finance growth, expansion or personal projects is key to financial freedom and commercial stability.
And, in a sector where the stakes are this high, the fact that Bulsho Sacco Limited is dully registered and operates under the legal and supervisory terms of the country’s Central Bank, provides a layer of protection and security for the members.
