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Somalia

The new strategy, developed with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), projects an increase in renewable capacity from 54 megawatts in 2023 to 392 megawatts by the end of the decade. The plan also targets a 30% rise in off-grid generation, with a focus on hard-to-reach regions like Galmudug and Jubaland.
Acumen’s Hardest-to-Reach (“H2R”) initiative has invested $1 million in KIMS Microfinance, the largest microfinance institution in Somalia, to support the scaling of its off-grid solar financing activities. KIMS was founded 11 years ago by Somali expatriates committed to empowering Somalis to lift themselves out of poverty.
The assessment calls for the installation of 261,000 rainwater collection tanks to be mounted on rooftops. That would benefit 1.5 million people—or roughly one in 10 Somalis. It also recommends digging 300 boreholes and outfitting them with solar-powered pumps, allowing 25,000 rural households to tap into underground water supplies.
Somalia’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals is searching for a developer to design, supply, install, test and commission a solar-plus-storage project in the northwest of the country. The deadline for applications is June 14.
@Hiiraan Online
Somalia has been heavily reliant on international aid, particularly from USAID and other donor institutions. While this assistance has been crucial for humanitarian relief, infrastructure development, and institutional rebuilding, it has fostered a dangerous dependency that stifles Somalia’s potential for economic and political self-determination.
The influx of foreign aid, though well-intentioned, often comes with conditions that limit Somalia’s ability to shape its policies and development agenda independently. This cycle of dependency discourages investment in local industries and revenue-generating sectors, leaving the country vulnerable to external influence and donor fatigue.

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