The stakeholders involved in bringing a luxury hotel to Mogadishu, Somalia, hope the development can begin to rehabilitate the image of the Eastern African nation.
In December, developers broke ground on the Mogadishu Rotana, a 261-room hotel with an additional 60 apartments near Aden Adde International Airport, the main airport in Somalia's capital. The Mogadishu Rotana is part of a mixed-use zone containing a conference center, shopping mall, hospital and residences, according to Jibril Hassan Mohamed, chairman of Riverside Holding, which is the hotel's ownership firm. Riverside is a division of Somali bank Premier Bank.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based Aleph Hospitality will manage the Mogadishu Rotana, which is scheduled to open in 2026.
Suleiman Abdullahi, project lead at Riverside Holding, said the partners are on a mission to “create enabling infrastructure, so that it is possible to do business, to visit.”
The second phase would prioritize building the components necessary to operate as a city within a city, Abdullahi said.
“Everything you need, a 300-bed hospital, which is lacking in Mogadishu, an international school, a shopping mall and 200 long-term residences,” he said.
It is an audacious plan, but Somalia needs one to start its renaissance, Abdullahi said.
Somalia has not had an easy history since colonialization began, when huge chunks of Africa were divided up between the European powers with little or no consultation. The United Kingdom and France both ruled parts of the wider area, the Horn of Africa, during the mid-20th century. Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935 and Somalia in 1936.
Somalia was founded as a republic in 1960 and was subject to a military coup in 1969. In the mid-1980s began the rise of resistance movements that largely have ruled or been an unsettling influence on politics and general life ever since.
But now, Somalia is poised for a rebound, Mohamed said. For one, it's becoming a bit easier to find development partners and the country's economy seems to be on the upswing. Another good indicator of progress is the numerous cranes now rising over Mogadishu.
“We have a target clientele, and we believe the timing is right. Somalia has made some great milestones,” Mohamed said. “The government wants Somalia to be known more than for just aid. We have achieved debt relief, we have international financing, our economy is more attractive. A lot has happened in terms of the regulatory environment.”
Somalia's momentum has been building for some time, he added.
“Even in the civil war, the private sector had a huge role. … Somalia is far less insecure. Yes, there are setbacks, but nothing that is not manageable,” Mohamed said.
In December 2024, the International Monetary Fund reported “Somalia’s program performance has been strong, demonstrating the authorities’ steadfast commitment to macroeconomic stability and strengthening institutional capacity and frameworks. Real gross domestic product growth projections for Somalia have been upgraded to 4% for 2024 and 2025 based on strong exports and remittances.”
An increase in airlift — the number of flights in and out of Somalia — could also improve the country's economic growth prospects. Abdullahi said more airlines are adding flights to Aden Adde in Mogadishu.
“These are signals. If you look at the connectivity 15 years ago, it was only Mogadishu to Nairobi. Now we have the majority of the regional airlines — Ethiopian, Turkish, Qatar, Uganda. There is sufficient load factor for them to retain the schedules they have,” Abdullahi said. “The expansion of the airport is an imperative, but we are hoping the epicenter of new development is not just a short distance away from the airport. We do not want to be an enclave.”
First-mover advantage
Aleph Hospitality's portfolio has 28 hotels — with 23 in Africa and five in the Middle East — in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco, Rwanda, Somalia and Tanzania. Its brand partners include Accor, BWH Hotels, Hilton, Marriott International and Radisson Hotel Group, among others.
Bani Haddad, managing director of hospitality at Aleph, said his firm has enjoyed expanding across Africa but never saw Somalia in its strategic growth plans. Fortunately, the partners involved with the Mogadishu Rotana formed the perfect team for Aleph to buy in.
“[In Somalia] we came across a very passionate developer who reached out. [Mohamed] sold his project very well, but the challenge we had was finding the right brand,” Haddad said. “The reputation of Somalia, the risk it represents for the big internationals, ... but with Rotana, we’re hitting it on the nail. It understands the culture. It has good awareness in Africa. Rotana is very keen, understands the market and has good connections with the EU and Somali governments.”
It will be Rotana’s 118th hotel in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and 81st for its division that comprises Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe and Turkey.
The Mogadishu Rotana project has a lot of good opportunities going for it, but Aleph executives still did their due diligence, Haddad said.
“Africa is never 100% stable, but the continent is very hungry for quality accommodations, non-existent in many markets. [The Mogadishu] offer is beautiful, modern, efficient and there is the feeling of security being next to the airport. Also, it will have significant convention space. There are a lot of other investments going on in Somalia,” he said.
As a hotel operator, Aleph is drawn to such places, Haddad said.
“We want to be first movers. We feel there is opportunity, a country that is taking a leap in a new direction, and we can benefit from that,” he said.
The Mogadishu Rotana also will be Aleph's first partnership with Rotana, which Haddad said is keen on growing its franchised portfolio.
“We are discussing with them another property outside of our normal parameter. There are similarities between Rotana and Aleph. We’re both very hands-on, human-sized organizations close to their owners,” he added.
Youth and vision
The development of the Mogadishu Rotana and future projects is an investment in Somalia's future. Fortunately, Somalia is a young country, Abdullahi said.
“Seventy-five percent of Somalia is under the age of 35. They know the brands, they want to be active consumers,” he said.
What will be missing in the short term is international travel demand to Mogadishu, Haddad said.
“There is enough demand from corporate, non-government organizations, the Somalia diaspora to visit friends and family and a good amount of business travel, and we will be the only luxury branded city in the market,” he added.
Haddad agreed that Somalia has the tools to make a new impression with the rest of the world.
“Not wanting to jinx anything, but the situation in Mogadishu is very encouraging. Now we must change the perception,” he said. “An international brand presence will help the international traveler. We will have the right security consultants and setup and translate that security feeling to our future guests. All the signs of the economy and implementations from the government are positive.”
Aleph is not new to moving into such fragile markets, Haddad said. Aleph moved into markets such as Ethiopia and Liberia when few international hotel brands and operators were active there, he added.
“When you move into these destinations, it is always interesting in that you attract the crème de la crème and command high room rates, but also you become very interesting to locals and integrated into the social framework for weddings, birthdays, et cetera. For owners and developers, the returns are faster,” he added.