Samasource
Encyclopedia
Samasource is a nonprofit organization that brings dignified, computer-based work opportunities to people living in poverty around the world. The organization's mission is based on the belief that poverty can be alleviated by tapping into the brainpower of the poor and empowering them as producers of goods and services in the global economy. Samasource secures contracts from enterprise customers to provide data entry, digitization, content moderation, and other outsourcing services. The work is divided into smaller tasks called "microwork" which are completed by Samasource's distributed workforce. This workforce comes from Service Partners in 6 different countries including Haiti
, India
, Kenya
, Pakistan
, South Africa
, and Uganda
.
Samasource is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
," a term coined by Samasource founder Leila Chirayath Janah
in 2008. These tasks are sent to Service Partners - nonprofit organizations, grassroots businesses, and educational institutions that work with people living in poverty. Service Partners, which are in charge of managing and paying Samasource's workers, must meet a range of criteria in line with Samasource's social mission including:
1. Reducing poverty in a low-income region with untapped human capital. (Low-income countries must be in accordance with the World Bank
's definition and low-income regions within other countries must be in accordance with the Columbia University
Global Distribution of Poverty Dataset).
2. Working with women, youth aged 18 to 30, and/or refugees or internally displaced person
s (IDPs).
3. Paying workers a living wage (as defined by the Fair Wage Guide) for the country in which they operate.
Samasource's workers are all connected to the organization's cloud, or the "SamaHub," a proprietary online work distribution system. Once the microwork is completed, Samasource staff reviews the work, assures quality, and delivers the completed work to the client. Samasource distributes the majority of this earned income to Service Partners, which ultimately compensate Samasource workers.
Samasource provides these services for free to its Service Partners, but charges a service fee to its clients and takes a small percentage of the value of the work done by its service partners to cover operational costs.
Samasource is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit, financed through a combination of its profits and grants.
. Working with students in a country where one third of the population lives below the poverty line opened Janah's eyes to the lack of meritocratic opportunities for those living in developing economies.
After completing a degree in African Development Studies from Harvard University
, Janah worked as a consultant at the World Bank
and at Katzenbach Partners
(now Booz & Company
). There, working with clients in the outsourcing sector and nonprofit world, Janah developed the idea for Samasource.
The organization received its initial seed funding from the International Business in Development Challenge and the Stanford Social Enterprise Challenge in 2008, and has received additional funding from grantors including the Rockefeller Foundation
, Mulago Foundation, Peery Foundation and Google.org
. The organization has since grown into a team and board with backgrounds in distributed work, economic development, and outsourcing. Samasource derives its name from the Sanskrit word "sama", which means equal.
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
.
Samasource is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Business Model
Enterprise customers send Samasource a project that is broken down by a proprietary technology platform into smaller tasks called "microworkMicrowork
“Microwork” is a series of small tasks that have been broken out of a larger project and can be completed via the Internet. Microwork is considered the smallest unit of work in a virtual assembly line....
," a term coined by Samasource founder Leila Chirayath Janah
Leila Chirayath Janah
Leila Chirayath Janah is the Founder and CEO of Samasource, a social enterprise that gives digital work to impoverished people around the world.-Background:...
in 2008. These tasks are sent to Service Partners - nonprofit organizations, grassroots businesses, and educational institutions that work with people living in poverty. Service Partners, which are in charge of managing and paying Samasource's workers, must meet a range of criteria in line with Samasource's social mission including:
1. Reducing poverty in a low-income region with untapped human capital. (Low-income countries must be in accordance with the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
's definition and low-income regions within other countries must be in accordance with the Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
Global Distribution of Poverty Dataset).
2. Working with women, youth aged 18 to 30, and/or refugees or internally displaced person
Internally displaced person
An internally displaced person is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the current legal definition of a refugee. At the end of 2006 it was estimated there were...
s (IDPs).
3. Paying workers a living wage (as defined by the Fair Wage Guide) for the country in which they operate.
Samasource's workers are all connected to the organization's cloud, or the "SamaHub," a proprietary online work distribution system. Once the microwork is completed, Samasource staff reviews the work, assures quality, and delivers the completed work to the client. Samasource distributes the majority of this earned income to Service Partners, which ultimately compensate Samasource workers.
Samasource provides these services for free to its Service Partners, but charges a service fee to its clients and takes a small percentage of the value of the work done by its service partners to cover operational costs.
Samasource is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit, financed through a combination of its profits and grants.
History
Samasource was founded in 2008 by Leila Chirayath Janah. Janah's interest in development began when she was 16 and teaching English and creative writing at an impoverished school in GhanaGhana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. Working with students in a country where one third of the population lives below the poverty line opened Janah's eyes to the lack of meritocratic opportunities for those living in developing economies.
After completing a degree in African Development Studies from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Janah worked as a consultant at the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
and at Katzenbach Partners
Katzenbach Partners
Katzenbach Partners was a small American management consulting firm. In 2009 it became a part of the global management consulting firm Booz & Co..Katzenbach Partners was founded in 1998 by former McKinsey & Company employee Jon Katzenbach....
(now Booz & Company
Booz & Company
Booz & Company is a global management consulting firm established in the United States in 1914. It is recognized as one of the most prestigious management consulting firms in the world and one of the best consulting firms to work for by Consulting Magazine...
). There, working with clients in the outsourcing sector and nonprofit world, Janah developed the idea for Samasource.
The organization received its initial seed funding from the International Business in Development Challenge and the Stanford Social Enterprise Challenge in 2008, and has received additional funding from grantors including the Rockefeller Foundation
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...
, Mulago Foundation, Peery Foundation and Google.org
Google.org
Google.org is the charitable arm of Internet search engine company Google.The organization has committed over $100 million in investments and grants as of May 2010. To fund the organization, Google granted them 3 million shares during their initial public offering. As of August 2011, Google.org's 3...
. The organization has since grown into a team and board with backgrounds in distributed work, economic development, and outsourcing. Samasource derives its name from the Sanskrit word "sama", which means equal.