How a DIY nation has made it this far

Hassan Mohamed Ali is asked the same question about his homeland so often that he has it printed on the back of his business card. 

“Where in the world is Somaliland?” the text reads, beside a map showing the location of the self-declared state in the Horn of Africa.  

That is the trouble with being the minister of planning and national development for a country that technically doesn’t exist. Most people don’t even know where to find you.   

But Mr. Ali knows that Somaliland’s anonymity also gives it certain advantages. His nation, which peeled off from Somalia during its civil war in 1991, is unrecognized but stable; poor but peaceful. It has somehow cobbled together a functioning state, with a democratic government, international borders, and its own currency and passport. 

“The world turned away from us and ultimately it was a blessing,” says Mr. Ali. “We didn’t have help, so we were forced to develop our own homegrown system.” 

For three decades, Somaliland has been locked out of a club that confers countries’ ultimate necessities: diplomatic legitimacy, and with it, money. If recognized, the nation could apply for World Bank loans. It could benefit from bilateral aid agreements, and take a seat at the United Nations. Without a doubt, being unacknowledged has cost the territory