MyDuka

I am the founder and executive director of Somo. I started working in Nairobi in 2012 with educational institutions in informal settlements around Nairobi. I launched Somo’s operations and the organization’s initial training cohort while still a student at UC Berkeley. After graduating with a concentration in international areas studies and global poverty, I moved to Nairobi full-time in 2016. I have since established design thinking and entrepreneurship programs in Bujumbura, Mexico City, and New Delhi. I am now focused on Somo's expansion around Kenya's urban centers.

Keeping track of financial and impact data can be hard for a small business. This is especially true in countries where most people still use feature phones or smartphones with low storage capacity / low network access. Tracking data from a phone has become even more imperative during COVID as traveling to shared computing services is not safe. Close to 400,000 MSMEs fail annually due to poor record-keeping (MSMEs Report 2016). 

MyDuka provides robust business tools on simple feature phones for small businesses to submit business records and automatically generate cash flows and income statements. Entrepreneurs use a USSD code to submit sales, client info, expenses, and inventory information. The system then automatically generates reports. 

Through more effective financial tracking, small business owners in underserved markets will make more informed decisions about their businesses, as well as secure partnerships to help them grow and provide more employment in their communities.

The urbanization of East Africa has created massively over-populated informal settlements, with a dire lack of basic services and employment opportunities. In our home base of Nairobi, 70% of the population lives in informal settlements. In Kisumu, conditions are similar, with 60% of its 1.3 million people living in informal settlements. In 2018, over one third – 34.4% – of Kenyans lived in poverty, with 80% currently working in the informal sector. Small businesses are the foundation of Kenya’s economy, and there is an abundance of entrepreneurs with community-changing ideas who come from low-income backgrounds.

But these entrepreneurs lack the right tools and support to bring about change in their communities. One major problem is the limited access to technology-based business tools in underserved areas since most entrepreneurs do not have the right technical devices, nor a stable internet connection to be able to use those tools. This prevents most businesses from thriving and hinders entrepreneurs from creating sustainable products and meaningful employment opportunities. Entrepreneurs need access to basic business tools, from any type of device anywhere.

MyDuka is a quick code (USSD-based) mobile phone reporting system created for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs. The platform enables business owners with feature phones to immediately start tracking and managing their finances. The platform enables entrepreneurs to generate and send invoices and receipts to their clients directly without requiring internet access. This allows entrepreneurs to continue to run their business and maintain their social distance and limit their travel. 

Users have access to recorded guides to help them navigate the platform, making it accessible to the most vulnerable and limiting the need for large in-person training. Additionally, the backend database linked to MyDuka allows members to connect directly to their entrepreneurs and target them with training and COVID-19-related messaging. All these features are accessible on basic feature phones, making it inclusive to all entrepreneurs across informal settlements.

MyDuka offers an automated system that tracks loan repayments and gives our entrepreneurs clear financial repayment records. The automated system ensures that all entrepreneurs with loan arrears receive timely repayment reminders as both emails and text messages. 

MyDuka uses USSD, cloud computing, and cloud storage.

Our founding principle is that people from low-income areas are best positioned to create change in their own communities. MyDuka was born from the experiences of entrepreneurs living in low-income areas of Nairobi and Kisumu. We identified a need for an affordable, accessible low-technology platform through which microentrepreneurs could manage their business. 

The technology has been tested by entrepreneurs from low-income areas. Beth, founder of  Ahadi Pads, makes reusable sanitary towels to help girls stay in school. She struggled with tracking her customer information and getting them receipts. With MyDuka, she fills in their information as she is making the sale, and the client info is automatically updated and a receipt is automatically sent. Margaret, the founder of Maples Oven, a healthy restaurant/catering business, was worried when COVID hit because she no longer could come to a Somo Hub to access a computer and file her reports. With MyDuka, she enters the USSD code on her phone, selects the products sold, identifies her client, and includes any expenses. Her cash flow statement is automatically updated.

MyDuka provides financial inclusion for small business owners across low-income areas. In order to have access to financing these entrepreneurs need a way to track their records. MyDuka makes this easy through providing a tool that is accessible through a basic feature phone and in local languages.

Somo entrepreneur Charles introduced the idea for MyDuka. Growing up with a single mother running a small business, he saw the difficulties that many small business owners face trying to manage their finances. Working with many other entrepreneurs from low-income communities, we have observed similar struggles with tracking finances. We wanted to create a tool that was accessible through any device and would automatically update all of our financial and impact tracking.

We started our first pilot of Somo 5.5 years ago, with our organization launching 4 years ago. We have had 256 entrepreneurs go through our training, 97 portfolio companies and employ 361 people through these businesses. Over the past 5+ years we have explored different ways to track financial and impact records. I have personally seen how having these records is important to our businesses accessing  later stage loans and large client contracts. Making this record keeping easier is something I am passionate about because I have seen how important it is to growing their businesses. Furthermore, it makes our coaching more effective as having accurate and up to date records gives our team a better understanding of how a business is doing.

Somo has a team with extensive experience living, working and running businesses in informal settlements. We know how to navigate difficult work environments, put out fires (sometimes literally), and learn from and grow with our trainees and entrepreneurs. Our work is fully integrated with the communities we serve. From setting up our co-working spaces in informal settlements to our hands-on approach providing entrepreneurship and life coaching, we provide holistic programs to serve our communities. Most of our team members grew up in the areas we serve. They fully understand the challenges local entrepreneurs face and are skilled in developing effective programs. We have developed long-term relationships with our entrepreneurs and the communities where we work, and expect to go on solving challenges collaboratively. Personally I have worked across low-income communities in Kenya for 8 years and have experience running programs for entrepreneurs across Kenya, Burundi, Mexico and India.

With the ongoing pandemic, small businesses are especially vulnerable as they do not have the reserves to make it through months without sales. They need support to keep their operations going, enabling them to provide for their families and offer meaningful employment.  Many organizations shut down when COVID hit.  We instead immediately started innovating on how we could adjust our model to meet the needs of our entrepreneurs during this time. Somo is creating a system to help small businesses continue to produce and sell safely during this time. We are directly purchasing products from small businesses and redistributing these to vulnerable families. We have reached over 2,500 families with hygiene and food products for about a month and masks and supported over 100 businesses. We are training small businesses to adjust their customer targets and business models to current market needs and helping them continue learning business skills digitally. As part of this effort, we are creating USSD-based reporting tools to capture their financial data.

This past year we expanded our team from a team of 8 people to a team of 29. Over a period of 3 months we tripled the number of entrepreneurs we work with and expanded to a second location in Kenya. We have also launched our training program with partners in Mexico and India. We have kept all of our businesses running during COVID and have innovated new ways to reach our entrepreneurs and new entrepreneurs during this time. One thing I have learned is there are many leadership styles. Mine is getting to know people and understanding what makes them tick. No matter how big our team gets or how many entrepreneurs we work with, I prioritize spending sitting down with the people I work with to hear their feedback on how we can better run our programs.

This is a solution created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. Our holistic hands-on approach enables us to continuously gather feedback on our programs and tools. We have created a database tracking system that enables us to reach hundreds of thousands of people. Whereas, existing PoS tools, like Quickbooks, are not accessible from feature phones, our system streamlines from a feature phone to Google sheet cash flows and our visual impact tracking system. Many small businesses struggle to create financial documents such as cash flows, invoices, and receipts. By using the technology they already own, we make it easy to use and give them access to financing and partnerships that were previously inaccessible. 

MyDuka creates templates for receipts, invoices, delivery notes, and quotations on the app to enable business owners to create these documents with a simple feature phone. These documents will be autogenerated by the system so that the entrepreneurs don’t have to master this skill. Through a USSD reporting system, entrepreneurs can enter the data needed, and have the information turned into a document that is automatically sent to the client. 

Within the next five years, we want at least 100,000 entrepreneurs to be using MyDuka. While this project is part of our COVID-19 response efforts and the project started amidst a pandemic, the potential for this platform for communities in Africa and beyond is transformational.

We envision a world where unlocking the potential of capable entrepreneurs builds enterprises previously deemed impossible and allows low-income communities to engage in dignified work and connect to global markets. Our mission is to give entrepreneurs what they need to build enterprises that change their communities from within. By investing in the right people, we help break the cycle of poverty and help bring long-term stability to urban slum areas.

To run successful businesses, entrepreneurs need a range of support and skills. MyDuka is designed to be used as part of a package of resources to support small businesses. Together with training, coaching, marketing and financing, MyDuka can create a solution that helps entrepreneurs launch their businesses and manage them for growth.

We are currently serving 97 businesses in our portfolio. We hope to reach at least 1,000 small businesses with MyDuka in the next 6 months. Over the next five years, our goal is to reach at least 100,000 small businesses.

Over the next year, we will expand our MyDuka solution across low-income areas in Kenya through partnerships with other organizations. Over the next 5 years, we will establish the systems, code and servers necessary to support entrepreneurs in Nigeria, Uganda and Tanzania, providing entrepreneurs in those countries with increased financial control. These entrepreneurs will report more confidence in their financial management skills and increased financial knowledge and skills. Across these four countries, we expect to reach at least 100,000 small businesses in the next 5 years, impacting the livelihoods of at least 300,000 families.

To be able to scale MyDuka to other African countries, we need to develop telecom partnerships with other mobile operators. These partnerships take time to develop, and the cost per user will differ depending on the country.

We need to have MyDuka available in different African languages to make it inclusive to entrepreneurs in different countries. This will include creating updated tutorials in all major languages to ensure entrepreneurs know how to use the platform effectively.

The cost of leveraging USSD and managing to have enough storage space is quite high and continuous,and needs substantial funding. We need to be aware of government policies in other countries since many control communications platforms, making usage more difficult.

Telecom barriers, specifically, government policies in other countries (control over communications platforms): Telecom partnerships in other countries will help us overcome the barriers presented by mobile operators. We are now using Africa’s Talking and will be investing in other partnerships with that telecom and their network.

Language barriers: We will be contracting with local translators, through a partnership with Youth Business International, who will help with adapting content for other African languages.

High cost of USSD and storage: In the long-term, we will be setting up our own infrastructure. For now, we are applying for funding, and having users contribute to using MyDuka ($1 per member monthly to cover the cost of running the app). While we are growing, we are also setting up our own server, and installing it locally so traffic stays within each country.

YBI committed a $10k USD grant to further develop our automated reporting app, MyDuka. We are currently in the process of scaling it to five other African countries together with YBI. MyDuka is connected to a visual platform created by Anapanda — for managing tasks, deliverables and metrics — that allows entrepreneurs to see their impact and financial data over time. This establishes a long-term record of growth that can be shared with advisors, partners and investors.

Somo is an entrepreneurship accelerator working in low-income urban settlements. We identify, train, fund and mentor entrepreneurs looking to drive social change by building enterprises in their own low-income urban communities. We invest in social entrepreneurs and provide the training and tools to help them build enterprises that change their communities from within. By investing in the right people, we help break the cycle of poverty and help bring long-term stability to urban slum areas.

MyDuka is free for all Somo entrepreneurs. For outside organizations, we charge per user per month. For under 50 users, we charge $3; over 50, the price drops to $2; and over 100, the price is $1 per user per month. We are targeting other organizations that work with small businesses in Africa, and offering them subscriptions for their portfolio companies to submit reports.

Somo has also secured multi-year funding through 2021 from Google, Argidius, UC Berkeley, and Jochnick Foundation. We received some seed funding from Youth Business International and Vodafone to start the development of MyDuka. 

Going forward, we plan to develop customized versions of MyDuka that we can sell to organizations that support entrepreneurial ventures. We will charge per-user fees for businesses outside of Somo. Other programs at Somo also generate revenue. We help our entrepreneurs sell their products outside of their communities through our physical store Somo Duka and online. For each product sold through MyDuka, we charge a 12% commission.

YBI committed a $10K USD grant to further scale MyDuka. We are currently applying for the Roddenberry Foundation together with YBI to make MyDuka available across other African countries.

The Vodafone Americas Foundation also committed a 10K USD grant which will enable us to further develop our training program and add more features to MyDuka.

We will work together with other organizations to make MyDuka available to more entrepreneurs and charge a per-user fee for each entrepreneur using MyDuka outside of Somo.

Together with YBI, we applied to the Roddenberry Prize to receive an additional $250,000 USD grant to scale MyDuka and make it available in more African countries.

Together with Arifu we applied to receive $53,000 USD to 

We also applied to the GSMA Innovation Fund to receive $150K USD to develop further features like voice messages and the translation of the content of MyDuka.

$405,286

We