[7] Initially a general trading enterprise, the firm began specialising in remittance broking during the 1970s, when many Somali males from Somalia migrated to the Gulf States for work.

[2][8] Because of foreign exchange controls imposed by the Somali government at the time, most of the funds were transferred via a trade-based system known as Franco Valuta (FV); the latter process involved the import of goods, proceeds from the sale of which were sent to migrants' families.

The business in Somalia collapsed, but Duale was able to draw on an extensive network of contacts in the Gulf to re-establish the venture, setting up a small office in Ethiopia to serve displaced Somali communities there and in Djibouti.

[6] Accounting for almost a quarter of household income in Somalia, funds remitted by the Somali diaspora have helped to sustain communities in some of the most remote locations in the Horn of Africa.

[13][16] With around 40% of households receiving such assistance from relatives working abroad, remittances have proved significant in promoting private sector activity in telecoms, transport and housing, as well as in basic infrastructure, health and education.

That same year, Dahabshiil teamed up with leading Somali retailers, hotels, restaurants, and petrol stations to launch 'Dahabshiil eCash', Somalia first debit card service.

[40] In July 2013, Mo Farah, the Somali-born Olympic gold medalist, joined legislators and activists in a campaign urging Barclays Bank to repeal its decision to withdraw from the UK remittance market.

[41] On 5 November 2013, the High Court in London granted an interim injunction preserving the banking arrangement between Dahabshiil and Barclays until the conclusion of a full trial.

[44] In February 2009, Peter Finn writing in The Washington Post, cited allegations that Guantanamo captive Mohammed Sulaymon Barre, while working for Dahabshiil, may have laundered money for terrorists.

He suggested this was an example of the difficulties that faced the joint task force US President Barack Obama had put in place to conduct new reviews of the detainees' status.

[17] These allegations are often based on the fact that Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud has appointed Ali H. Hassan, who is Dahabshiil's founder cousin, as the chief of cabinet, and Sa'ad Haji Ali Shireh, the former CEO of the firm as a minister[46] In 2011, a group of independent Somali journalists alleged that Dahabshiil had temporarily succeeded in convincing their web-host to shut down their site because they had published stories critical of the firm.

[47] In 2011, an undercover investigation by The Independent suggested that public relations firm Bell Pottinger had been contracted by Dahabshiil to minimise any negative reporting of the company, including the Guantanamo Bay detainee affair.

[49] The Bell Pottinger executives detailed their techniques, which purportedly included manipulating the ranking of Google search results to suppress unwanted coverage, and also boasted that they had a 'team' that could manage Wikipedia articles.