1 million women in Africa’s war-torn nation hold gold worth nearly $3 billion, now a bank wants to use it as collateral

The lender estimates that about 1 million Somali women collectively hold around 20 tonnes of gold worth nearly $3 billion, much of it accumulated through marriage gifts or purchased as a form of savings.

According to Bloomberg, only a tenth of the nation’s women have access to formal financing, chiefly because most lack collateral or guarantors. But many receive gold at marriage or purchase some to save for emergencies

The new service is designed to address that gap by recognising gold jewellery as an alternative form of collateral.

The move comes as Somalia’s wider gold industry remains largely underdeveloped despite evidence of gold deposits and artisanal activity.

Somalia’s formal mineral production data has been limited since the collapse of the central government in 1991, while decades of conflict and weak state institutions have constrained exploration, mining and processing.

The country’s mineral sector remains dominated by small-scale and informal activity rather than a large commercial gold industry.

Gold mining has nevertheless attracted renewed attention, particularly in northern Somalia, where artisanal operations have expanded and new processing facilities have begun to emerge.

The development of a formal gold industry remains constrained by insecurity, limited geological data, weak infrastructure and the absence of a fully developed mining ecosystem.

MyBank’s approach is built around an asset many Somali women already possess rather than requiring them to acquire property or find a guarantor. Under the proposed model, a woman can present her gold jewellery to the bank, have its value assessed and use the verified value as collateral for financing.

That approach addresses a particularly difficult problem in Somalia’s financial system. The World Bank has identified limited property ownership, the absence of a movable collateral registry and requirements for male guarantors as significant barriers to women accessing credit.

The initiative also fits MyBank’s broader push to expand financial intermediation in Somalia. Established in 2018, the bank says it was created partly to address the country’s large gap between demand and supply for financial services and is licensed by the Central Bank of Somalia.

For women who have accumulated gold as a store of value but lack conventional collateral, the model could provide a pathway into formal financing without requiring them to sell the jewellery outright.

The idea also reflects the unusual nature of Somalia’s economy after more than three decades of conflict: substantial household wealth exists outside the formal financial system, while banks continue to face a shortage of conventional collateral and credit infrastructure.

By using gold already held by women, MyBank is attempting to bridge those two realities, turning jewellery traditionally used for savings and security into an asset that can support businesses, household needs and other forms of economic activity.