| Amina Moghe Hersi أمينة موجي هرسي |
|
|---|---|
| Born | 1963 Kenya |
| Ethnicity | Somali |
| Occupation | entrepreneur |
| Known for | Oasis Centre Laburnam Courts Kingstone Enterprises Limited |
Amina Moghe Hersi (Somali: Aamina Mooge Xirsi, Arabic: أمينة موجي هرسي) (b. 1963) is an award-winning Somali entrepreneur. She has launched several multi-million dollar projects in Kampala, Uganda,[1] such as the luxury mall the Oasis Centre and the Laburnam Courts. She also runs Kingstone Enterprises Limited, one of the largest distributors of cement and other hardware materials in Kampala.[2]
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Amina was born in Kenya, where her mother, Sarah Hersi Ali, was a prominent expatriate Somali businesswoman and her uncle, Adam Hersi Ali, served as a Financial Secretary of Treasury in Kenya's Ministry of Finance. As a young girl, Amina and her sister regularly joined their family in the cross border trade between Kenya and Uganda. After the death of her father, she and her sister were sent to accounting school by her mother, where they built on their entrepreneurial skills. The loss of two of her daughters in a car accident in 1998 prompted Amina's family to suggest she move to Uganda.
| "It was a pleasant surprise and I'm grateful for the recognition. The award has really inspired me to do more in the coming years," – Amina Moghe Hersi[1] |
Amina quickly adapted to her new environment and acted as a convenient link on the ground for her family's commercial trade. She began expanding the family business and entered the real estate sector. Amina would eventually become one of the wealthiest people in Uganda and come to own the Oasis Centre, a multi-million dollar shopping mall complex situated in the capital. She also runs one of the largest distributors of cement and other hardware materials in the country. In 2008, Amina received the Woman Investor of the year Award for her large-scale projects that are changing Kampala's skyline.
In 2008, Amina was the subject of an attack that injured her driver and her escort. The assailants trailed her as she was travelling from her distributing company, Kingston Enterprise in Banda, to the city centre of Kampala where the incident occurred. Only a week before, an Indian businessman was stalked and murdered in a similar attack. The Rapid Response Unit tasked with eradicating violent crime began their investigation and manhunt for the would be assassins, but none of the suspects were apprehended. They are suspected to be part of a crime syndicate with ties to Rwanda and Congo.[3]