Somo

As Conference of Parties (#COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, focusing on #ClimateFinancing approaches, #Kenya grapples with the aftermath of devastating floods and changing weather patterns. In these challenging times, #entrepreneurs need more than just resilience—they need #actionable support and #financial backing. That’s where we step in! 🚀 High lending rates at local banks hinder young #women from accessing loans. But thanks to our partnership with Standard Chartered Bank Foundation and Youth Business International (YBI), we are changing the game. 🌟Through the partnership we provide financial #support to women-led #businesses via a revolving fund launched in 2023. While informal sectors drive over 80% of Kenya’s employment, #women entrepreneurs receive only 7% of venture capital funding in Sub-Saharan Africa. Somo is committed to bridging this gap. 👩🍳 Meet Maureen Awino Odera, founder of Modesh Bakers. With Somo’s support, she turned a Sh 100,000 loan into a thriving business, employing seven individuals. 🔗 Read her inspiring story: "Empowering Kenyan Female Youth Through Alternative Financing Initiatives" - https://lnkd.in/dH-NaUpA Keep shining, Maureen! 🌟💪🏽 Standard Chartered | Wilkister Adie

We're thrilled to share another #JobOpportunity! 🎉 We are looking for a #AccelerationSpecialist for our Western Region! Interested? Send your #Cv and cover letter to [email protected]. Know someone who might be a good fit? Spread the word! Best of luck to all applicants🌟 Tracy J. Wanjiru Wilkister Adie #HiringNow #SupportingMSMEs

🌟 It was a pleasure connecting with the GIZ Kenya Western Team last week at their offices in Kisumu! Together, we are empowering 25 Agri-SMEs in Western Kenya through a combination of the #SME Loop approach and the Somo training model. Our aim is to enhance their #entrepreneurial skills and increase their #income. The #SME Loop approach provides continuous #support and #mentorship to small and medium #enterprises, ensuring they have the #tools and #knowledge to grow #sustainably. Meanwhile, the Somo training model emphasizes practical, hands-on training tailored to the unique needs of each #entrepreneur, fostering #innovations and #resilience. Here's a sneak peek from our meeting with the GIZ Kenya Western Team and some sessions with the #Agri-SME #Entrepreneurs in #Kisumu. We are excited to see the positive #impact this collaboration will have on the local #Agricultural sector and the broader #community🌱✨ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH | Moralyne Mogusu | Wilkister Adie #Entrepreneurship #agriSMEs #capacitybuilding #innovations #SustainableGrowth #Kisumu #GIZ #Somo

Hey all, we're excited to share this new #JobOpportunity! 🎉 We are looking for a #BusinessCoach Intern for our Western Region! Interested? Send your #Cv and cover letter to [email protected]. Know someone who might be a good fit? Spread the word! Best of luck to all applicants🌟 #HiringNow #SupportingMSMEs

More than a quarter of #entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa are women, yet female entrepreneurs in the region earn an average of 34% less than their male counterparts, according to The World Bank. To bridge this gap and empower #femaleentrepreneurs, YBI and our member Somo launched the Revolving Loan Fund, funded by Standard Chartered Foundation as part of Futuremakers by Standard Chartered. This initiative provides low-interest loans and financial literacy training to women entrepreneurs in Kenya. In its first year, the Fund supported 77 women-led businesses with loans, resulting in a 28% monthly revenue growth for these businesses. Discover more about the programme in our paper 'Alternative Financing for Informal Businesses to Propel Youth Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa': https://lnkd.in/ernk-wbP

Did you know? Tanzania boasts the second-largest #economy in East Africa and ranks tenth in the entire continent! Local #entrepreneurs in 🇹🇿 play a pivotal role in this, employing over 20% of the workforce. Despite their resilience, they face challenges like #financing, limited #infrastructure, and slow #tech adoption which hinder their #growth and #sustainability. Recently, we connected with Boniface, founder of Samabo in Tanzania. With over 40 years of experience, Boniface founded Samabo to pass on his incredible craftsmanship #skills to the #youth and provide quality products like tablecloths, napkins, and bedspreads. With investment from Somo, Boniface is expanding his production facility, creating more #jobs, and meeting growing demand. That's impact! Join us in supporting local entrepreneurs like Boniface! Visit www.somafrica.org to learn more about Somo’s work and how you can be part of this transformative journey. You can also like, comment and share this post to show your support. #TukoPamoja #SomoEmpowers

Celebrating #WorldYouthSkills Day🌍 This day highlights the importance of equipping young people with #skills for #jobs, #entrepreneurship, and addressing global challenges like #climatechange, #foodinsecurity and #socialjustice. This year's theme, "Empowering Youth for a Sustainable Future," underscores the vital role of empowered #youth in creating a #sustainable #world. In honor of World Youth Skills Day, we partnered with Fursa Youth and others to empower #youth with essential #skills for their entrepreneurial journeys. We provided them with our innovative #digitaltools such as DigiSomo, a WhatsApp bot for entrepreneurial learning complemented by DigiVoice which offers pre-recorded audio lessons via a toll-free number. 🚀 Big shoutout to Ephraim Okeyo, founder of Kono Farm, featured by Lynn Ngugi for his inspiring work addressing #foodinsecurity and #unemployment through #innovation. 🔗Check out his story here - https://lnkd.in/dkQv9D86 Youth Business International (YBI) NADHIFA JAMA Hajj Idd Hamisi Wilkister Adie Amelia Hopkins Phillips

As we wrap up the Africa Impact Summit, we’re thrilled to reflect on the incredible discussions and insights shared. A special shoutout to our Partnerships and Fundraising Manager, Moraa Maureen, who represented us on the panel discussing “Best Practices for Designing and Implementing Effective Business Support Services and Technical Assistance Programs.” Her contributions underscored our commitment to amplifying impact, driving innovation, and fostering change in the communities we serve. Thank you ANDE East Africa for the invite and all the organizers, panelists, and attendees for making this summit a success. Together, we are paving the way for sustainable development and economic growth in Africa! Em Ekong Martin Kibisu Grace Wachori Winston Reid Ford Foundation UNDP Sanlam AUDA NEPAD UK INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LTD NIFC Africa KIFFWA - Kenya Innovative Finance Facility for Water RMB - Rand Merchant Bank Kenya Climate Ventures (KCV) Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs East Africa Philanthropy Network-EAPN East Africa Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EAVCA) African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) SAB Foundation Krutham #AfricaImpactSummit | #EconomicGrowth | #Innovation | #SustainableFuture

We're thrilled to have Moraa Maureen, our Partnerships and Fundraising Manager, as a panelist at the Africa Impact Summit 2024 courtesy of ANDE East Africa! She’ll be sharing insights on "Best Practices for Designing and Implementing Effective Business Support Services and Technical Assistance Programs." The Africa Impact Summit is all about accelerating our actions for the communities we envision.All are welcome to join. For more details, visit https://lnkd.in/dBNiFGFx Em Ekong Martin Kibisu Grace Wachori Winston Reid

Excited to take part in this year's ANDE conference in September, which will provide an excellent opportunity for networking with other world leaders in entrepreneurship, investment, and development. Through the event we will be able to help amplify our impact, drive innovation, and create change in the communities we serve. With over 14,000 jobs created by Somo businesses, we are looking forward to leveraging the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs network to build our systems to support businesses that create more jobs across low-income areas in East Africa.