*Soko* means marketplace in Swahili, the national language of Kenya. *Soko’s* Founders Catherine Mahugu, Ella Peinovich and Gwen Floyd, met in Nairobi, where they were inspired to create technology solutions to change the lives of those around them. *Soko* was born out of a love of design, a combination of global perspectives, and the desire to connect and empower entrepreneurs via the use of the technology. At *Soko*, our mission is to create an online marketplace so that small-scale producers in the developing world can participate in global trade. *Soko* helps “fashion a better world” through the equitable direct trade in beautiful goods between artisans in the developing world and web consumers worldwide. Working at the bottom of the pyramid communities around the world, the founders realized that by leveraging technology and existing infrastructure in an innovative way they could create a platform to enable any talented artisan to participate in international trade.

A large percentage of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa are self-employed in the informal economy, producing of craft and handmade goods—a skill that roots them deeply in culture and community and which helps them supplement their meager incomes. However, these producers cannot access the worldwide consumer demand for their unique, low-cost products because, like over 70 percent of the world’s population, the live and work on the other side of the digital divide, unable to benefit from the economic opportunity the Internet provides. *Soko* was founded in 2012 in recognition of the global need as well as a global opportunity to disrupt these systemic patterns of poverty across the developing world’s creative economy.

*Soko* has made significant progress since its inception. We have carried out a test pilot of our mobile platform in India, increased our vendor market by partnering with telecos who have a footprint in Asia, Latin America and Africa. We have received media coverage ranging from locally to internationally renowned organizations and media houses, including the BBC, CNN, CNBC, UNWomen, GSMA and the World Bank. In addition we have launched a new website featuring *Soko’s* next generation artisan tools, the first *Soko* collection, an expanded marketplace and a competitive online user experience and product selection that is already garnering significant consumer and PR interest.

*Soko* is making an effort to pioneer social-impact assessment monitoring and evaluation in our community of artisans, aiming for sustainability in business for our producers. We have acquired substantial partnership support and funding from the USAID Development Innovation Ventures grant, partnership with ICRW, and the Latin American telecom foundation.

*Soko’s* solution empowers a distributed network of individual micro-entrepreneurs to compete in the global marketplace, enabling more equitable and distributed international trade. Every transaction on *Soko* supports its mission of economic empowerment of artisans. *Soko* has connected thousands of consumers to hundreds of artisans. Our site can receive thousands of hits per month and has empowered artisans to sell thousands of products to consumers from the US, Central America, the EU and Australia.


Links: www.shopsoko.com

*Soko* was founded by Catherine Mahugu, Gwen Floyd and Ella Peinovich in 2012. The core team of eight people is based in Kenya and the US.