Board of Directors

Mr. Duale is the founder of the Dahabshil Group and its associated businesses. Dahabshil Group is one of the largest privately owned companies in the Horn of Africa, with extensive interests in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and North America. Having started from humble beginnings in Somalia in 1970, Mr. Duale has built a huge business conglomerate across many sectors including financial services, trading, construction, telecommunications and energy. With a vision to establish a world-class enterprise and a deep commitment to ethical business practices, Mr. Duale has demonstrated, exceptional entrepreneurial acumen to identify business opportunities and develop them into viable and successful enterprises.

A philanthropist and a social leader, Mr. Duale supports a wide variety of social, developmental and humanitarian causes and projects.

Saeed Mohammed Saeed is a seasoned businessman and expert in the field of Money Exchange/Financial and International trade. He was a Regional Managing Director of Dahabshil Money Transfer Services in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. With his acumen, he expanded the Dahabshil money transfer network in many Middle East and African countries in a short time span and made Dahabshil one of the most prominent remittance/exchange companies; well recognized across Middle East and Africa. In addition, he has set up various ties with many regional/international bank/money remittance companies which increased Dahabshil reach to almost 40 countries in the world.

He also established a completely new remittance/exchange company called Al Dahab Exchange in UAE. Al Dahab Exchange is licensed by Central Bank of UAE and expanded into its 6 outlets with almost 80 employees within 6 years. In addition to have above role, Saeed trades in Oil and foodstuffs. Saeed holds Commerce degree and attended International seminars in Anti Money Laundering.

Mr. Duale is a prominent business executive with extensive experience in money transfer operations, banking and finance in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and North America. He is a successful businessman with a reputation as a successful entrepreneur. A second- generation business leader, Mr. Duale took over the Dahabshil Group in 2007 as a Group CEO and led a successful business transformation that involved aggressive expansion into the key strategic sectors of banking and telecommunications. The result has been a phenomenal growth in market share, strong corporate culture and sharp growth in profitability.

Abdirashid Duale is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences, where he advocates financial inclusion in developing countries and the vital importance of remittance flows to the global development agenda. He has been featured in local and international media including The Financial Times, the BBC, Al Jazeera, The New York Times, The Economist and The Guardian.

Mr. Awl is an accomplished international banker with extensive industry experience in North America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East who spearheaded the establishment of East Africa Bank (EAB) in Djibouti. He has served in a variety of leadership positions with commercial, investment and development banks as well as consulting firms including the Islamic Development Bank and African Development Bank. At IDB, he was instrumental in the development and launching of Islamic products that expanded the bank’s financing operations. At ADB, he established and managed a private-sector fund, which financed investment throughout the continent. Mr. Awl’s directorships have included the Harrington Institute, Dahabshiil Financial Services, African Export-Import Bank, PTA Bank, Africa Project Development Facility, African Management Services Company, SIFIDA Investment Company, and South Africa Infrastructure Fund. He is very active in civil society programs and sits on the Board of a number of local and international NGOs. A graduate of the Harvard Business School Executive Development Program, Awl also holds an MBA from Miami University (Ohio), a BS from State University of New York’s School of Management (Binghamton) and a banking diploma from the British Institute of Bankers.

Mr. Abdirahman is a seasoned executive with experience in leading some of the largest corporations in Somalia. He is currently the Group Deputy CEO of Dahabshil Group. Mr. Abdirahman’s directorships include general Electric Company, East and West Travel, Som Petroleum (Chairman), Dahabshil Oil Storage Terminal (DOST), Money Transfer company as well as social and development organizations.

Mr. Hassan was the first CEO of Dahabshil Money Transfer (DMT). He also served as the advisor to Dahabshil Group Chairman on business matters. He later served as the CEO of Kaah Express and the chairman of Somaliland Chamber of commerce. He is an executive director of Dahabshil Group in south and central Somalia and a board member of Dahabshil Bank International. Mr. Hassan holds bachelor degrees in Business Administration from Franklin university in USA, MBA from Strayer university in Washington D.C. He has over 30 years of experience in banking and finance.

Mr. Ali is former and founding general manager of Dahabshil Bank International. A veteran banker with over 40years experience in the field of banking, he has 25years experience in conventional commercial banking and 15 years in Islamic banking. The international banks with which Mr. Ali worked include Faysal Islamic bank, Sudan, Bank of Bahrain, National Bank of Yemen and Commercial bank of Somalia. Whilst he is a specialist in the field of international trade and a holder of professional certificate from Somali institute of business and administration, he also has various post graduate diplomas in banking and finance.

Mowlid has 10 years of experience in banking and finance and now serves as the Board Secretary of Dahabshil Bank International. He previously served in various capacities within the Dahabshil Group including Secretary to the Chairman, Deputy & Chief Operation Officer Somtel, and later as Board Director of Somtel, a member of the Group providing telecommunication services. Mowlid holds bachelor degrees in Business Administration from University of Hargeisa, MBA with Islamic Banking and Finance from International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM).

Mr. Hussain is a banker and businessman with four decades of extensive experience with banks and financial institutions in Saudi Arabia. He held senior positions with Citibank/Saudi American Bank, United Saudi Commercial Bank, Dallah Al-Baraka Investment Group, Bank Al-Saudi Al-Fransi – BSF (Affiliate of Credit Agricole Group), Gulf International Bank- Saudi Arabia, Kirnaf Financing and Investment Co. Saudi Arabia. His roles covered all aspects of bank finance and operations including credit and financing, financial institutions relationships, administration, treasury operations, and branches network management. Mr. Hussain was a permanent member in a number of Central Bank committees including the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency’s Operations and Treasury Operations Committees, Saudi Arabian Riyal Interbank Express Committee, and the Compliance and Anti-Money Laundry Committee. He holds a Certificate in Anti-Money Laundering and Compliance from the University of Reading and International Capital Markets Association.