SOMO Africa

SOMO

Region:

East Africa

Area of expertise:

Business Development

Type:

Projects

SOMO Africa equips marginalized entrepreneurs in low-income communities across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda with the tools and support they need to launch and scale sustainable businesses. Since 2017, they’ve supported over 11,000 entrepreneurs through a comprehensive approach that combines digital learning, business development services, and access to early-stage finance. Their model addresses the reality that traditional business support often doesn’t reach entrepreneurs in informal settlements and rural areas – particularly youth, women, and people with disabilities who face the greatest barriers. SOMO’s digital-first approach makes training accessible through WhatsApp and voice-based platforms, helps entrepreneurs build business records that can unlock financing, and uses alternative credit scoring to evaluate businesses based on actual performance rather than traditional banking history.

The platform includes DigiSomo for self-paced business training, DigiKua for digital bookkeeping and financial tracking, and Somo Invest which connects entrepreneurs to early-stage grants and loans. This integrated system not only supports individual businesses but also generates data that helps build the case for investing in small entrepreneurs who are typically overlooked by traditional lenders. To date, SOMO has directly invested over $3 million in 754 businesses, helping create more than 17,700 jobs while achieving income increases of 3.2x for participating entrepreneurs.

Social Capital Foundation has partnered with SOMO Africa since 2021, supporting their expansion into Tanzania and the development of digital tools that empower marginalized entrepreneurs across East Africa.

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Previous support (2021-2024)

Our collaboration began with SOMO’s expansion from Kenya into Tanzania, enabling them to test and refine their training-of-trainers model and indirect delivery approach. In Tanzania, this partnership has supported over 1,500 entrepreneurs through digital learning, provided financial tracking tools to more than 600 businesses, and delivered training to over 800 entrepreneurs both directly and through eight partner organizations. SOMO’s approach has demonstrated strong results. Businesses that received support nearly doubled their average monthly income, while grant and loan investments totaling over $300,000 helped create more than 1,800 jobs in local communities. The partnership also supported development of the Somo Scorecard, an alternative credit scoring system that evaluates entrepreneurs based on financial data, business performance, social impact, and program participation rather than traditional credit history.

Current support (2025-2027)

Building on this foundation, we’re now supporting SOMO’s commercialization strategy to scale their proven model across Tanzania and Uganda. The program focuses on offering SOMO’s digital tools and training curriculum to other Entrepreneur Support Organizations and Community-Based Organizations, enabling them to better serve marginalized entrepreneurs.

The initiative includes three components: providing co-branded digital tools to partner organizations, delivering training-of-trainers programs with quality assurance toolkits, and facilitating early-stage financing for high-performing entrepreneurs. Over two years, SOMO aims to partner with twelve organizations serving over 5,400 entrepreneurs and directly finance nearly 300 businesses. This commercialization approach helps SOMO build financial sustainability while expanding their reach. Revenue from tool licensing allows reinvestment in platform development, while the training-of-trainers model proves more cost-effective than direct delivery. By Year 1, projected revenue from digital tools across all SOMO locations is expected to cover over 6% of organizational operating costs, with the model creating a pathway toward long-term sustainability while maintaining deep impact in underserved communities.