en.Wedoany.com Reported - Somalia's largest telecommunications operator, Hormuud Telecom, announced in Mogadishu on May 5, 2026, a strategic partnership with phone financing company Get-Phone to officially launch Somalia's first structured smartphone financing plan. The initiative aims to bridge the country's long-standing "device gap"—while Somalia's 4G network coverage has now exceeded 70%, nearly half of Hormuud's approximately 4 million subscribers still use 2G feature phones incapable of accessing the internet, making the price of smartphones the primary barrier for low-income populations to enter the digital economy. At the launch ceremony, Somalia's Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmed Jama positioned the plan as a "gateway to financial inclusion," arguing that smartphones have long ceased to be mere communication tools and are now critical entry points connecting commerce, education, and opportunity.
The financing scheme features clearly designed eligibility thresholds and repayment pathways. Customers can obtain a smartphone with a down payment of just $19, followed by a minimum daily repayment of $0.60—a fee that includes both the device installment and a bundled package of 1GB of daily data plus 40 minutes of calls. Given that the average Somali user currently spends about $0.50 per day on data and voice services, the new plan effectively allows an upgrade from a feature phone to a smart terminal for an extra $0.10 per day. The repayment period ranges from 6 to 12 months, with users also having the option to settle on a weekly or monthly basis. Get-Phone CEO Omar Abdi emphasized at the press conference that the financing scheme adheres to Islamic finance principles and contains no interest components.
Hormuud's self-developed credit assessment mechanism underpins the financial security of the entire scheme. This mechanism generates credit scores based on users' SIM card usage patterns and mobile money transaction data, enabling eligibility checks to be completed within seconds without the need for traditional bank accounts or credit histories. The scheme also incorporates a "family guarantor" mechanism, allowing approved users to vouch for relatives, thereby extending coverage further to family members in rural and nomadic areas. This model underwent a two-month pilot test in Mogadishu from February to March 2026, during which the default rate remained below 4%, and cases emerged of users proactively guaranteeing purchases for family members in different locations.
The repayment process is completed through EVC Plus, Hormuud's mobile money platform. Hormuud has been deeply rooted in Somalia for over two decades, having previously co-invested in the construction of two submarine fiber optic cables and pioneered the launch of 5G services in Somalia. Hormuud Chairman Ahmed Yusuf explained the core logic behind the plan: "For twenty years, we built a network we believed could transform Somalia. The obstacle was not the distant base station, but the phone in the pocket. Today, we are removing that obstacle."
Data from the World Bank and GSMA provides macro-level backing for this initiative—figures show that in developing economies, every 10 percentage point increase in mobile broadband penetration can boost GDP by 1.4 percentage points. According to the deployment timeline released by Hormuud, the first batch of 10,000 devices will be distributed by June 2026, expanding to 100,000 units by the end of 2026, with the coverage area gradually extending from the current central and southern regions to Puntland and Somaliland.
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