A reader's glossary: bankable, pre-feasibility, PPP, brownfield and other terms

Where Xidig members may contribute

• Translation: helping produce an agreed Somali version of these terms. Any Somali glosses need native-speaker and specialist review.
• Plain-language explainers: for members who are new to investment terms.
• Corrections: members with finance, legal or engineering expertise can suggest better definitions.

Possible services, research, supplier or collaboration roles

• A bilingual investment glossary, reviewed by native speakers and specialists.
• Short training sessions on reading a project fact sheet.

Who may find this useful

• Anyone reading the booklet for the first time.
• Diaspora professionals and small investors.
• Students, journalists and researchers.
• Translators working on Somali investment terminology.

How the fact sheets are laid out

The booklet is not a single proposal but a catalogue. Almost every fact sheet has the same fields:

• First page: "Proposed Investments Description", "Sector", "Subsector", "Investment Promoter", "Project Contact", "Project Current Status", "Implementation Period", "Project Lifetime" and "Estimated Project Cost". A few sheets add a return figure.
• Second page: "Key Drivers", "Fiscal Incentives" and "Non-fiscal Incentives". Some sheets also list "Existing Infrastructure to Support the Investment".
• Tick boxes at the foot of the second page: "Investment Type" (Brownfield, Greenfield, Expansion), "Investment Structure" (PPP, Joint Venture, Private) and "Project Status" (Pre-Feasibility, Feasibility Started, Feasibility Completed).

The booklet says its projects are "drawn from the National Transformation Plan (2025–2029)".

The terms, explained

The definitions below are Xidig's plain-language explanations. Where a legal definition matters, check the relevant Somali law or ask the ministry.

Status and stage

Bankable. In finance, a "bankable" project is one that lenders or investors would be willing to finance, usually because studies show it can repay its costs and its risks are understood. In the booklet the word is a title and a goal: it does not mean that a bank has assessed or agreed to finance any of the proposals.

Pre-feasibility. The earliest study stage. A pre-feasibility study looks at whether an idea is worth studying in detail: rough costs, demand, options and obvious obstacles. 35 of the 37 sheets tick this box, and every sheet's status field describes an early stage.

Feasibility started / feasibility completed. A full feasibility study tests a project in detail: engineering, costs, finance, environmental and social impacts, and legal requirements. Only two sheets tick a later box: the Mogadishu, Kismayo, Garacad and Bosaso power plants ("Feasibility Started") and PET preform manufacturing ("Feasibility Completed"). No feasibility study for any proposal has been published.

Estimated project cost. The booklet's figure for the whole investment. It is an estimate at pre-feasibility stage, not an approved budget, a tender value or a price. Four costs are printed in a notation that needs confirmation; see Reader's notes.

Implementation period and project lifetime. How long building or setting up would take, and how long the project is expected to operate. On many sheets the "lifetime" is given as 2025–2029, the period of the National Transformation Plan, rather than an operating life.

Return on investment (ROI). The profit an investment is expected to earn, as a share of its cost. A few sheets state a figure. Xidig does not repeat them, because the booklet gives no basis for them.

Type of investment

Brownfield. Building on or upgrading an existing site or facility, such as rehabilitating an existing port or hospital.

Greenfield. Building something new on an undeveloped site.

Expansion. Enlarging an existing, operating business or facility.

Some ticks look inconsistent with the descriptions. For example, new referral hospitals are ticked brownfield, and a port "modernisation" is ticked greenfield. See Reader's notes.

Structure

PPP (public-private partnership). A long-term contract in which a private company finances, builds or operates a public asset or service and takes on a significant share of the risk. It is paid by the government, by users, or both, and the government remains accountable to the public for the service. In Somalia, concessions come under the Public Procurement, Concessions and Disposal Act (2015). A PPP tick shows the structure the government has in mind; it does not mean a partner has been found.

Concession. A type of PPP in which a private operator is given the right to run and earn income from a public asset, such as a port, for a set period. The 2015 Act defines it as "the grant of an interest in a public asset by a Contracting Authority to a non-public entity for a specified period…".

Joint venture (JV). A business owned jointly by two or more partners, who share control, costs and profits. A partner can be a government body, a Somali company or a foreign investor.

Private. A project owned and run entirely by private investors, with no government stake.

People and institutions on the sheets

Investment promoter. The government body presenting the proposal. On almost every sheet this is SOMINVEST together with the relevant line ministry. It is not the same as a sponsor or owner.

SOMINVEST. The Somalia Investment Promotion Office, "established under the 2015 Foreign Investment Law to attract, facilitate and retain domestic & foreign investment in Somalia" (booklet, p.7). It sits within the Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development.

MoPIED. The Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development, which publishes the booklet and leads national planning.

Line ministry. The ministry responsible for a sector, such as health, energy or fisheries, listed as co-promoter on each sheet.

Federal Member States (FMS) and the Banadir Regional Administration (BRA). Somalia's federal units and the administration of the capital region, listed on p.9. The status of some entries is politically contested; Xidig reports the list as printed and takes no position.

Incentives

Fiscal incentives. Tax-related benefits. On the sheets these are mainly a "Partial import tax exemption" and, on three sheets, a five-year tax exemption for "secondary investors", without saying which tax it covers (sometimes called a "tax holiday"). The sheets do not say which taxes, rates or conditions apply. Check the current law with the Ministry of Finance.

Non-fiscal incentives. Non-tax support. The sheets list the same set on almost every page:

• Investment entry facilitation: help with registering and setting up the investment, including as a joint venture or wholly owned company.
• Investment after-care: continuing support after the investment is made, for example with problems involving government agencies.
• Residence permits for board members and the chief executive.
• A "Work permit waiver for five top management officials": exemption from work-permit requirements for five senior managers.

Doing-business summary (p.9). The booklet summarises business registration, tax rates, land access ("Long Lease"), visas and work permits in one table. Rates and rules can change; always check with the relevant ministry. See Investing in Somalia: registration, tax, land, visas and permits.

Plans and frameworks

National Transformation Plan (NTP) 2025–2029. Somalia's current national development plan, from which the booklet's projects are drawn. See The National Transformation Plan 2025–2029 in brief.

Somalia Vision 2060. A long-term national vision to 2060. The booklet says it was "launched in 2023"; it was announced in January 2023 and formally launched on 23 June 2025. See The National Transformation Plan 2025–2029 in brief.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063. The United Nations' 2030 goals and the African Union's long-term vision, which the booklet says Somalia's plans align with.

Economic terms used in Xidig's reports

GDP (gross domestic product). The value of everything an economy produces in a year.

• Current prices use each year's actual prices.
• Constant prices remove price changes to show real growth, so the same year can have two different values.
• See Somalia's economy at a glance and Livestock exports: why the figures don't match.

Remittances. Money sent home by Somalis abroad. Different sources measure it differently.

Mirror data (partner data). Trade figures reported by Somalia's trading partners, used when Somalia's own records are incomplete.

Energy terms used in Xidig's reports

MW and MWh. A megawatt (MW) measures power: how much electricity a plant can produce at one moment. A megawatt-hour (MWh) measures energy: how much it produces or stores over time. A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is one-thousandth of a MWh, the unit on electricity bills.

HFO (heavy fuel oil). A thick, cheap oil burned in some power plants. See Heavy fuel oil or solar?.

Off-grid and mini-grid. Power systems not connected to a national grid. A mini-grid supplies a town or area from a local plant. See Mini-grids in Somalia.

Battery storage. Batteries that store solar or other power for use later, such as at night. See Battery storage for Somali towns, explained.

Dependencies and implementation constraints

• Legal meanings depend on Somali laws, which can change.
• Somali terms for many of these concepts are not yet standardised.

Risks and unknowns

• Misreading the stage: treating "bankable" or a PPP tick as a sign that a project is financed or ready.
• Outdated rules: tax rates and permit rules summarised in the booklet can change.

Questions members should verify before acting

1. What exactly do the incentives cover, and under which law?
2. Has any feasibility study been done since the booklet was published?
3. What structure and partner does the ministry actually want?

What is confirmed, and what isn't

Confirmed

• The fact-sheet fields and tick boxes, as printed.
• The booklet's description of SOMINVEST and its link to the 2015 Foreign Investment Law.
• The 2015 Act's definition of a concession.

Our interpretation

• All definitions are plain-language explanations, not legal definitions.

Not yet verified

• How the incentives are applied in practice.

Relevant next steps

• Read the booklet with this glossary open, starting with Somalia's Bankable Projects 2026–2030, explained.
• For legal or tax questions, ask SOMINVEST or the relevant ministry, or a qualified adviser.