Global Gateway in Somalia: Investment with a Human Face — and Hard Questions
MOGADISHU — When the European Union rolled out its Global Gateway initiative in Brussels this month, the message was simple: funnel European capital into connectivity projects across Africa, Asia and beyond, and build ties that can withstand geopolitical shocks. For Somalia, a country still rebuilding after decades of conflict, the program promises not just roads and ports but jobs and a stake in the global economy.
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The EU delegation in Mogadishu frames the partnership in straightforward terms: strengthen trade and infrastructure, create local employment, and stitch Somalia into wider economic networks. Those are big ambitions for a country where a large share of economic activity remains informal, where most people live in towns such as Mogadishu, Kismayo and Hargeysa, and where the public sector is fragile but eager.
Concrete hopes on the ground
On a hot morning in Hodan district, Sahra, a 28-year-old tailor, showed a visitor three sewing machines clustered under the shade of corrugated roofing. “We used to wait months for material and the market was chaotic. If there are reliable roads and cheaper electricity, I could hire an apprentice,” she said. The sentiment is common: small-business owners say they need predictable power, access to larger markets and affordable finance.
Global Gateway’s sell is partly that predictability. The EU says the program can mobilize up to €300 billion worldwide by 2027, using grants, loans and guarantees to reduce risk for private investors. In Somalia, where private capital is thin and political risk is palpable, even a modest influx of patient, regulated funding could be transformative — if it reaches the right places.
Another example is the port economy. Somalia’s coastline is one of its biggest natural assets, and ports handle the imports and exports that feed households and businesses. Upgrading ports, improving customs procedures and enhancing hinterland roads could lower costs for traders and create ripple effects across the economy.
From infrastructure to inclusion
Beyond concrete and cranes, the story that often goes unreported is how infrastructure can become social infrastructure. Vocational training tied to projects — for electricians, mechanics, welders and logistics workers — can turn a road-building contract into a long-term employment pipeline. “You can build a bridge, but if local youth don’t learn to maintain it, it crumbles,” said a senior Somali development official who asked not to be named. “We want projects that leave skills behind.”
That point matters in a country where remittances from abroad support millions of families and where formal employment is limited. Priorities voiced by local shopkeepers, transporters and vocational trainers in Mogadishu cluster around two themes: access and agency. They want to be partners, not just beneficiaries.
Geopolitics, competition and standards
Somalia’s turn toward Global Gateway is also a signal in a larger, noisier competition. Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative has long been active across the Horn of Africa, financing ports, roads and power projects. European officials argue Global Gateway emphasizes transparency, sustainable standards and respect for labour and environmental rules — a contrast pitched to both African governments and global investors.
That contrast raises real questions: will European money be faster, cheaper or less conditional? Will it avoid the debt pitfalls that critics charge have accompanied some infrastructure loans elsewhere? And will it translate into durable, locally anchored development rather than headline-grabbing contracts?
Risks on the horizon
Even the best-funded plans face Somali realities. Security remains a constraint. Al-Shabaab continues to mount high-profile attacks, complicating logistics and raising the insurance costs that deter private investors. Political fragmentation between federal and regional authorities can slow approvals and feed uncertainty. Climate shocks — recurrent droughts, floods and the long-term pressures of warming seas — threaten both urban livelihoods and the physical infrastructure being planned.
There’s also a governance challenge. Donors and investors often prefer neat project cycles and measurable outputs. Local communities, by contrast, ask for patient, accountable partnerships that allow them a say in where and how projects are implemented. Without that inclusion, projects can breed resentment rather than a sense of shared ownership.
Questions for the next phase
As Brussels touts Global Gateway’s potential, Somalis ask quietly: who benefits first? Will investments go to ports and highways while smaller towns remain isolated? Will the labor force be trained, or will imported labor take short-term contracts? And crucially, how will the projects withstand political turnover and security crunches?
Those are not rhetorical objections. When a road is paved but local communities are excluded from maintenance contracts, the road degrades faster. When a port is upgraded but customs digitization stalls, congestion and corruption persist. The devil — as ever in development — is in the details.
Why this matters beyond Somalia
Somalia is often framed as a test case. If the Global Gateway model — public funds steering private investment with clear standards — can be made to work in fragile contexts, it becomes a template for other countries that lie at the crossroads of geopolitics and local need. If it fails, critics will argue that neither public good nor private profit can be reconciled in challenging environments.
For people in Mogadishu’s markets, in coastal fishing towns, and in the hinterlands where seasonal migrants return from the city, the stakes are practical: cheaper goods, steady jobs, dependable power and, above all, opportunities that keep young people invested in their communities. “We don’t want big projects that only look good on a brochure,” said Hassan, who runs a transport cooperative that moves goods from the port. “We want projects that we can use every day.”
As Brussels and Mogadishu negotiate the shape of the partnership, they will need to keep that everyday perspective front and center. Big finance and geopolitical strategy can only be successful if they are translated into the quieter accounting of daily life — wages earned, apprentices trained, goods moved, and a small business that finally manages to grow.
Can Global Gateway deliver that translation in Somalia? The answer will depend on whether investments are big enough, fast enough, and — most important of all — anchored in local priorities, security realities and climate resilience. The world will be watching.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
