SOMO Africa

SOMO

Region:

East Africa

Area of expertise:

Business Development

Type:

Project

SOMO Africa is an organisation that aims to enable entrepreneurs from low resourced communities to build businesses by providing financing, training, tailored business advising and access to markets. They have expanded beyond Nairobi, graduated 401 trainees, funded 119 businesses and created 1838 jobs.

During the global pandemic, the team grew. Instead of reducing their ambitious targets, they doubled the number of people trained and businesses launched from last year.

Their entrepreneurs had the determination and creativity not only to keep their businesses going but also to support their communities, helping SOMO reach over 6000 families with needed food, hygiene supplies and masks.

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The project aims to reach 100 entrepreneurs in Arusha and Moshi using our digital tools, DigiSomo and DigiKua, to improve their business acumen and collect data that will help them get financing. The information gathered during this time will be used to determine how the rest of Somo’s programs will be implemented.

The goal is to distribute Somo programs across Tanzania over the next 24 months, reaching 10,000 small enterprises with the digital tools and assisting at least 3,000 with funding.

The broad-based assistance methodology — training, coaching, finance, incubation, branding, and market access – is reproduced throughout the locations and then personalized for each of the portfolio companies. The first move will be to provide hands-on training and coaching via the blended models to 1,000 aspiring entrepreneurs.