SOMO

Job training and mentoring

Location: Kenya and Northern Tanzania

Sponsor: Tom Phillips

SOMO Website

Somo:  Grantee in 2020 and 2022-23

Somo was started in 2016. Its name comes from the Swahili word for ‘lesson’ and reflects an underlying tenet of the organization that ‘we all have lessons to learn from each other.’ 

Somo is a business accelerator that supports social entrepreneurs working to break the cycle of poverty and transform low-income communities in Kenya.  Somo invests in social entrepreneurs who have community-changing ideas but lack access to the resources that can help them realize their ambitions.  It provides training, business advising, funding, and assistance with market access. Somo’s work is fully integrated within the communities and is supported by established, long-term relationships that build more stability. 

Since its founding, Somo has trained 1,400 entrepreneurs, overseen the creation of over 300 businesses and generated more than 6,000 jobs.

For more information, see: https://www.somoafrica.org/

GRANT SUMMARY AND PURPOSE

2020:  $30,000 helped finance two initiatives to advance the progress of Somo-trained entrepreneurs.

  1. Tengeneza na Somo:  This is a new shared production facility that will reduce upfront investment for the food and hygiene businesses founded by Somo entrepreneurs.  19 businesses will benefit by sharing the facility and machinery, cutting production costs, and ensuring quality control with certification from the Kenya Bureau of Standards. 
  2. MyDuka: This is an SMS-based (texting) financial records system that captures transaction data and generates financial reporting. Entrepreneurs use the USSD code to generate financial reports on a basic feature phone.

2022-23:  $30,000 will help Somo scale their work in Kenya based on DigiSomo, their digital training platform, DigiKua, their USSD and WhatsApp-based financial reporting tool, and Somo Academy, their individualized training and mentorship program.  Somo will also expand to begin serving low-income areas in Tanzania. In addition, a grant of $2,883 in unrestricted funding has been awarded to support this mission.

IMPACT

Somo identifies entrepreneurs from marginalized Kenyan and Tanzanian communities and empowers them with the tools and support needed to successfully build businesses, establish sources of income and improve their living standards.