Former Anglo Irish bank head agrees to be the acting director of Dahabshiil in UK

Mike Aynsley, the former chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank, has joined the board of African money service business (MSB) Dahabshill Transfer Services.

He has also agreed to act as its acting managing director in the UK, where it is the biggest player in the migrant transmittal market to Somalia, estimated at $500 million a year. Dahabshill provide work for 5,000 people and functions in 286 locations in Somalia, as well as having local offices in 150 countries and 180 driving forces in the UK alone, writes the Irish Times.

Dahabshiil is the biggest private sector employer in Somalia and is led by Abdirashid Duale, a British-Somali entrepreneur, whose father founded the business in 1970.

Mr Aynsley said his new job was to “ensure the company remains aligned to the evolving regulatory and business environment in which it operates”. “Somalia has no formal financial infrastructure and as a result the MSB industry effectively acts as the banking system,” he said. “MSBs are the only safe and transparent way to send money into Somalia. “As such, millions of people – 40% of the population – rely on remittances to support their livelihoods, and remittance account for around 50% of Somalia’s gross national income.

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