The earliest communities were formed in Cape Town and surrounding areas in the late nineties and early 2000s.

[2] Somali businesses have offered goods to customers at lower prices than their local competitors, cornering the market in many areas.

[2] By 2010, Somali entrepreneurs provided most of the retail trade in informal settlements around the Western Cape province, among other places.

[5] Although South African business people envious of the Somalis' entrepreneurial success have been blamed for fomenting the hostilities, most of the incidents have been linked to criminals and "tsotsis" (gangsters) working on behalf of local community leaders.

According to the organization, following a greatly ameliorated political situation in Somalia in 2012, some Somali immigrants have started again repatriating back to their native country for the first time in ten years.