Overview

As the rest of the developing world moves to the new economy driven by the Internet and technology, Somalia must build on the lessons they have learned throughout their efforts to climb to the top. The theme of SomNOG’s annual conference for this year has been purposefully selected to create awareness of the importance of digital transformation, inform policy-makers, and inspire action.

SomNOG8 is the 8th annual conference organized by the Somali Network Operators’ Group. The one-week event will bring together professionals from the ICT sector, policy-makers, Internet service providers, academics, and other stakeholders. The goal is to provide a platform to discuss current issues facing the ICT sector and explore development opportunities and ideas for growth.

Conference Theme

Main theme: “Inclusive Digital Innovation for a Trusted and Collaborative Digital Economy in Somalia”

This year’s event will comprise of four segments in which the following sub-themes will be examined.

Sub-theme 1: Digital Skills, Jobs & TVET for the Future Workforce

Sub-theme 2: Inclusive Digital Services & Financial Innovation

Sub-theme 3: Trust, Safety & Digital Rights in the Connected Era

Sub-theme 4: Public-Private Collaboration for Digital Transformation

Call for Abstracts and Presentations

SomNOG invites qualified professionals, academics and researchers to contribute to this premier event. Interested contributors may submit their abstracts on the event page:  CallforPapers

Plenary Sessions

Each session will have a series of informative and inspiring presentations by professionals and experts in their respective domains. The sessions will be concluded with a plenary session and discussions among the participants.

As with previous conferences, the report of the proceedings of the conference will be published towards the end of 2025. The individual abstracts and presentations will be shared on the conference page.

About SomNOG

Somali Network Operators’ Group (SomNOG) is a forum for Somali networking and Internet technology professionals to develop technical competencies, share experiences and collaborate through training and research in networking and Internet technologies. SomNOG is a non-profit organization run by volunteers which aim to contribute to the growing eco-system of Internet service providers and consumers by building relevant technology expertise. Participation in SomNOG’s activities is open to anyone interested in sharing their experiences and technical knowledge or learning from others. SomNOG’s moto is “Towards a better Internet, through effective collaboration.”

The Eighth Annual Event of the Somali Network Operators’ Group

SomNOG8, the eighth annual event of SomNOG will be held in Mogadishu between 7th – 11th December 2025. This year’s event will comprise of the following activities:

  1. SomNOG8 Workshops – 7th – 9th December
    The annual technical capacity building program will consist of three concurrent workshops on Internet and network technologies. The hands-on workshops are intended to upskill the working professionals and graduates in ICT, Telecommunications, and related disciplines.
  2. Technical Sessions and Tutorials – 10th December
    Technical sessions and tutorials: 4 concurrently-organized tutorial sessions will be held to impart skills and knowhow on specific topics.
  3. SomNOG Annual Conference – 11th December
    The one-day event will bring together professionals from the ICT sector, policy-makers, Internet service providers, academics, and other stakeholders. The goal is to provide a platform to discuss current issues facing the ICT sector and explore development opportunities and ideas for growth.


Call for papers

If you want to get involved, you can submit your papers/presentations by filling the Call for paper application on the event page