Developing Somaliland’s gateway to global trade

Developing Somaliland’s gateway to global trade

Our partnership with DP World accelerates Africa’s potential as a global trading powerhouse and improves the economic prospects of millions of people

 

In many parts of Africa, the modernisation of ports, corridors and logistics networks can help to create jobs, enable exports, attract private investment, and connect landlocked economies to global markets. Yet much of the continent’s export infrastructure remains chronically underfunded.

Berbera Port in Somaliland is a case in point. A strategic gateway on the Gulf of Aden, it is also an important alternative trade corridor for Ethiopia, which currently routes around 95 per cent of its trade through Djibouti. But it needed modernisation to become a major regional trade hub.

In early 2022, we established the BII–DP World Africa Gateway partnership to support the expansion of ports and inland logistics across Africa. This included a minority investment in Berbera Port, driven by DP World Berbera in partnership with the Government of Somaliland.

In December 2025, we published an independent evaluation of the port’s modernisation. It found that by 2024, the port and its ecosystem were supporting around 2,490 jobs and $45 million in value added to the Somaliland economy, contributing an additional 0.4 per cent of GDP that year. Container handling capacity had more than tripled, average vessel turnaround times fell from 64 hours in 2018 to around 25 hours in 2024, and Berbera’s share of regional container trade has grown from 9 per cent in 2017 to 14 per cent in 2024.

Investment name: Africa Gateway: Berbera Port
Location: Somaliland

Investment type: Growth Portfolio

$45m

value added to the Somaliland economy

We are firmly positioned to further develop and grow our economy through increased trade, attracting foreign direct investment and creating jobs.”

Muse Bihi Abdi

Former President of Somaliland

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