[3] Hormuud was established in 2002 in Mogadishu, Somalia by a small group of shareholders, and originally consisted of 16 telecommunication sites.

EVC Plus functions as a digital wallet, allowing users to purchase goods and services and transfer money.

The cooperative deal established the Somali Telecommunication Company (STC), which allowed their mobile clients to communicate across all three networks.

[citation needed] In 2019, the company offered commission-free bulk cash transfers to NGOs responding to floods around Beledweyne, Baidoa, Jowhar, and the Gedo region of southern Somalia.

This international standard accredited Hormuud's products and services as satisfying the needs of their customers through an effective quality management system and meeting all the relevant regulatory requirements.

WAAFI combines mobile money, communication, entertainment, and payments, wherein consumers can access bank accounts, perform online transactions, send international remittances, and make international/domestic phone calls all through the app.

In partnership with Salaam Somali Bank, Mastercard, Telesom, Golis and Paymentology, Hormuud Telecom introduced contactless payments in Somalia.

[8] Hormuud employs more than 20,000 full-time and part-time staff with different specialties,[1] including telecommunication engineering, customer service, sales and marketing, and finance specialists.

[4] In 2014, it launched Hormuud Mifi, a portable 4G wireless router that can connect to multiple smartphones, tablets, or laptops and offers 4G internet for on-the-go web surfing.

The same year, Hormuud launched ADSL Plus, a service that uses a customer's telephone line to send and receive internet data and make calls.

[4] During the same year, Hormuud also launched My SMS, a bulk messaging service for communication to a large workforce or group of students.

[4] In 2024, Hormuud Telecom launched 5G services across Somalia, including Mogadishu, Kismayo, Galkayo, Baidoa, Dhusamareeb, Beledwayne, Afgoye, Merca, and Dhobley.

Hormuud Telecom has played a vital role in disaster response in Somalia by replacing basic ringtones with critical alert messages that provide public safety instructions[23].

In the past, Hormuud Telecom provided commission-free bulk cash transfers to NGOs responding to crises (like floods in 2019).

[26] In 2019, Hormuud Telecom launched its humanitarian portal to better facilitate cash aid to remote and difficult to reach areas[27].

The portal uses Hormuud’s mobile money network to provide a traceable, timely and efficient way to distribute cash assistance – reducing risks and operating costs for NGOs[28].

The portal won the Africa Tech Festival’s Changing Lives award in 2022, for its role in transforming mobile money cash transfers and providing essential financial services to millions of Somalis during the 2021 drought[30].

[5] Research from SIMAD University in Mogadishu has found that the adoption of mobile money throughout Somalia is responsible for the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises.

During the pandemic, Hormuud replaced some of the Nasiye dial tones with public health announcements to educate vulnerable populations and communities.

[4] In 2021, Hormuud launched Somalia's first indigenous mobile money application, which gives Somalis access to a range of digital services across a singular platform for the first time.

[33] WAAFI is a fully integrated mobile money platform, upgrading existing USSD technology that many Somalis use.

In 2024, Hormuud's collaborated with WAAFI, Paymentology, Mastercard and Salaam Somali Bank to roll out “Tap and Go” contactless pyments in Somalia for the first time.

In 2021, HSF supported the effort to help raise $4 million for the Somalia Action Network Covid-19 relief fund, in partnership with the Somali Chamber of Commerce.

[39] HSF funds a range of philanthropic relief projects, directly responding to humanitarian crisis across Somalia.