SDC Delegation Met in Addis Ababa to Discuss Investment

• SDC delegation met in Addis Ababa with Somaliland Community Representatives
• Reviewed short, medium and long-term project agendas
• Investment sectors discussed included livestock, power generation and Berbera Corridor
• Supported by the Department for International Development (DFID)
• Facilitates investment into the Somaliland, Horn of Africa

In line with the SDC’s mandate to develop and negotiate mutually beneficial contracts between communities and investors in the former British protectorate of Somaliland and the surrounding Horn region of Africa, four of the SDC’s directors have recently returned from a trip to Addis Ababa, where a series of meetings with Somaliland community representatives took place from 19–24 April 2013.

The delegation from the SDC consisted of Jeremy Carver CBE, President of the British branch of the International Law Association; Professor Myles Wickstead CBE, former UK Ambassador to Ethiopia and Independent Vice-Chair of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy; Leoned (Len) Tiahlo, Resources Sector Executive and Investment Specialist and Edna Adan Ismail, a UN diplomat, French Legion of Honour recipient and former Foreign Minister of Somaliland. They met with six community representatives from the various Eastern Central and Western regions of Somaliland

The SDC reviewed potential short, medium and long term commercial project agendas over a range of investment sectors, including:

• Livestock related business
• Power generation
• Fake pharmaceutical detection and reporting
• Berbera Corridor related business essentials including insurance capacity
• Media and information systems expansion via the newly installed optical fibre network (extending to Ethiopia)
• Defined sponsorship agendas whereby new or past foreign investors be invited by the SDC to respectively initiate or re-establish their presence and acceptance by the local hosting communities
• To operate in harmony with the regionally-agreed Constitution of Somaliland

Furthermore, the SDC has amended its constitution to increase its number of Community Representatives from five to 15, allowing for future greater representation of regional Somali interests, and fostering the long-term goals of the SDC to work alongside local communities to create mutually sustainable and transparent contracts by raising their level of understanding of foreign inward investment opportunities and the accompanying international business environment.

Comments Carver: “In a fragile, and still largely divided, region, it is essential that high quality investors, committed to sustainable growth for themselves and the communities in which they operate, are attracted. The wrong investors can undo all the progress made. The most stable environment for investment remains unquestionably in Somaliland.”

Adds Ismail, “Somaliland’s track record of nearly 20 years of political stability and security is ready for business right now.”

For further information on the investment sectors discussed during the trip, as well as interview opportunities and expert commentary from Jeremy Carver on the SDC’s activities, please contact neha@curzonpr.com or call +44 2073992438

Notes for Editors:

About the SDC

The SDC was founded in 2011 and is part of a process that seeks to better integrate the former protectorate Horn region of Africa into the international community. The organisation aims to increase outside investment in Somaliland – and the surrounding regions of the Horn of Africa – by providing a secure, professional and mutually beneficial environment for investors and local communities to interact. The SDC assists in developing and negotiating mutually beneficial contracts between communities and investors, thus supporting the long term sustainability of relationships, transparency of business practices and full accountability for both parties. In so doing, local host communities will be better able to improve their international business capacity and increase their choice and access to quality international investors. Working within local customs and practices, the SDC is structured to employ high standards of disclosure to investors and host communities to ensure that all transactions are competitively priced. The SDC’s Board will oversee transactions and will regularly assess financial, developmental and reputational risks. By applying World Bank anti-corruption guidelines and transactional transparency principles, the SDC provides investors and host communities with a safer platform on which to transact. For further information on the SDC, please visit www.sdc-africa.com

Jeremy P Carver CBE

International Lawyer, Director and Co-Founder of the SDC

The recipient of a CBE for Services to International Law, Jeremy P Carver has been President of the British branch of the International Law Association since 2001. Previously a consultant at Clifford Chance LLP (2003-2013), other professional affiliations include Partner at Coward Chance (1974–2003 before its merger with Clifford Chance) as well as Solicitor at the Courts of Hong Kong and the Supreme Court of England and Wales. Carver has served on the boards of Transparency International UK and International Rescue Committee New York, USA, and was Co-Chair of International Rescue Committee UK from 2001–2012.

Professor Myles Wickstead CBE

Former Ambassador of UK and Africa Development Specialist, Director and Co-Founder of the SDC

Professor Myles Wickstead is the recipient of a number of Honorary Doctorates in recognition of his work on Africa. From 1993–1997 he was based in Nairobi as Head of the British Development Division in Eastern Africa, before serving on the Board of the World Bank (and as Development Counsellor at the British Embassy) in Washington from 1997–2000. He was then appointed British Ambassador to Ethiopia for four years, serving as Head of Secretariat for the Commission for Africa (CfA) from 2004–2005 before leaving government service. Dr Wickstead served as Independent Vice-Chair of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and is currently Chair of One World Media (OWM) and has been a Specialist Advisor to the Parliamentary International Development Select Committee.

Leoned (Len) Tiahlo

Resources Sector Executive and Investment Specialist, Director and Secretary of the SDC

Len Tiahlo is focused upon inward investment in the Horn region of Africa, with three decades’ experience in the minerals extraction sector. He began his career with the Anglo-American Corporation ZCCM (1973–1976), before going on to become a UK-based engineer in new oil and gas field exploitation. In 1984, Tiahlo joined ARCO and specialised in research and development, followed by mergers and acquisitions at the LA-based corporate HQ. From 1991 he partnered with Prof Ed Purdy (ex-Exxon) and Dr Bill Kruger (ex-Amoco) in an advisory associated with Arthur Anderson. In 1997, helped initiate and close the first Ukraine state investment into a UK PLC. He later went on to work on advisory in Russia and also in association with Lehman Brothers. From 2004, with ex-director of Tullow PLC, Eskander Maleki, Tiahlo was active in new business evaluation in the Middle East and Africa, including Somaliland. This latter interest resulted in an agreement with Somaliland to create a joint venture to raise local capacity and attract participation with quality oil and gas companies.

Dr Mohamed Rashid Hassan

Founder and Director of the SDC Corporation

Dr Mohamed Rashid Hassan is Somaliland’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. He worked on the Somali Desk of the BBC World Service, and studied Political Science and Social Anthropology at London University, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He was the Vice Chairman of the UCID Political party of Somaliland. 

Dr Edna Adan Ismail

Principal Intermediary with Somaliland Horn Community Leaders, Director of the SDC

Dr Edna Adan Ismail is a nurse, midwife, UN diplomat, French Legion of Honour recipient and former foreign minister of Somaliland. She was also a founding member of the Somali Red Crescent in 1963. Ismail was married to Mohamed Haji Ibrahim Egal, who was Head of Government in British Somaliland five days prior to Somalia’s independence and later the Prime Minister of Somalia (1967–1969) and President of Somaliland (1993–2002).  Ismail was the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Nursing Adviser during 1986. From 1987–1991, she was Regional Technical Officer for Mother and Child Health, before becoming a representative of WHO in Djibouti (1991–1997). Since retirement from WHO, Ms Ismail has wholly focused all her resources into providing much-needed health care to a population with one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates in the world. In a recent talk at TEDxRC², Edna shared her vision for saving many more lives across the Horn of Africa, proving that “if it can happen in Somaliland, it can happen anywhere.”