Nearly a decade after earning the grand prize in the 2016 Big Ideas Contest at UC Berkeley, Somo, a non-profit supporting sustainable growth and job creation for small businesses in marginalized communities in East Africa, is thriving and expanding.
Maureen Moraa, Partnerships and Fundraising Manager, said she joined Somo in 2020 because she wanted to advocate for equal opportunities for success as well as her close connection to Nairobi and empathy for the community–a community where hundreds of thousands of residents are unemployed and lack access to basic infrastructure including clean water.
“I grew up there in the Kibera slums,” she said. “I want to empower women and youth entrepreneurs to be innovative and create sustainable change from within. ‘Matumaini’ means ‘hope’ in Swahili and to have “matumaini’, we must not only envision things differently but have the support to make it reality.”
Maureen leads a dynamic team at Somo, collaborating on projects with government institutions and private sector partners.
Somo was founded by Amelia Hopkins Phillips, a UC Berkeley student who had volunteered in Kenya since 2012. Hopkins Phillips wanted to support social entrepreneurs committed to changing their own under-resourced communities by providing the necessary training and tools they need to succeed. Somo identifies people with intimate knowledge of their communities and the relevant social context to address problems such as sanitation, children’s nutrition, job training, and educational opportunity. In alignment with the mission of the Blum Center for Developing Economies at Berkeley, the organization’s core is the belief that local context matters and people know their communities and what they need but lack the resources to grow and scale a venture.
Through digital tools, Somo has supported more than 12,361 entrepreneurs, have financed more than 754 businesses and have created nearly 20,000 jobs. Beryl Odhiambo of Bellyz Organics is one of those 20,000.
Beryl completed Somo Academy in 2023, where she learned about financial literacy and got the support she needed for her peanut butter business, Bellyz Organics, to grow.
“I learned how to improve on the products that I sell in order to acquire more customers, and I learned how to track my cash flows for my business through DigiKua,” she said. DigiKua is Somo’s USSD and Whatsapp-based reporting tool that empowers users to run their businesses, make informed, sustainable financial decisions, and access financing from institutions that require formal financial documentation.
Beryl also received a business grant from Somo and utilizes Somo’s production facility which provides agro-processing businesses the machinery they need for production forstandardized processes at subsidized rates. Beryl has also been able to get her product certified through Somo, allowing her to enter new markets like supermarkets.
“I am an advocate for eating healthy food, and that has been a main driver for my business, and it makes me work with enthusiasm,” Beryl said. “My goal is to enter into the export market and to establish my production farm for peanut butter.”
Recently, Somo expanded beyond Kenya into Tanzania and Uganda, with plans to expand across Africa. With this growth comes a need for additional support and capital. If you would like to invest in entrepreneurs or volunteer with Somo, visit the website www.somoafrica.org to learn how to get involved.