Impact Sourcing Experience: Poverty Reduction through Information and Digital Employment (PRIDE)

Provided By: TechnoBrain | October 30, 2015

Impact Sourcing Experience Poverty Reduction through Information and Digital Employment (PRIDE).

download pdf

Company profile

One of the first organizations to engage in impact sourcing, Samasource uses a proprietary internet-based model called “microwork” to break down large-scale digital projects from clients into smaller tasks for workers to complete. These workers are trained in basic computer skills and paid a fair wage. Samasource is headquartered in San Francisco, California and maintains a field office in Nairobi, Kenya. The organization currently partners with 10 delivery centers across Haiti, India, Kenya, and Uganda, and has previously paid workers in Pakistan, Ghana, and South Africa. As of April, 2015, the organization had impacted 24,100 workers and their dependents in these countries by paying them over $7 million in wages. The delivery centers are required to follow Samasource’s social impact guidelines, which include reinvesting at least 40% of revenue in training, salaries, and community programs, and hiring workers who were previously earning less than the local poverty line. 

Business situation

One of Rockefeller Foundations strategic goals is to ensure that poor and vulnerable populations benefit from more equitable economic growth. Achieving this goal requires actions that accelerate poverty reduction by improving the capacities of poor and vulnerable populations to contribute to and benefit from, innovations in productivity, training and technology. 

One of the approaches to reach this goal is through impact sourcing which is driven by Rockefeller Foundation. Impact sourcing (IS) employs people at the base of the economic pyramid, with limited opportunity for sustainable employment, as principal workers in business process outsourcing centers to provide high-quality, information-based services to domestic and international clients.

Impact Sourcing Cycle

TechnoBrain Focus Areas for Impact Sourcing Projects: 

• BPO Services – Voice and Data 
• Market Data Research – Computer Aided Tel. Interview 
• Customer Care / Technical Care / Appointment Setting 
• Data Services 
• Image & Content Moderation 
• Content Research 
• Back Office Management 
• IT Services (web, solutions, training, etc.) 

Social highlights

• Have hired more than 500 plus youth from challenging communities, trained and placed them on International Campaigns till date
• Works very closely in recruiting youth from Community Based Organizations like:
  • NairoBits – A digital design School & Our Impact Sourcing Recruitment Partners 
  • ​ACWICT - The African Centre for Women, Information and Communications Technology is a pioneer Kenyan based Information and Communications Technology Organization 
  • Other women’s organizations 
• Employs more than 80% of the staff who are women 
• One of the largest Impact Sourcing Service Provider for Samasource 
• 40% of the employed women staff are single mothers 
• Active participants in CSR activities which creates high impacts to humans and society as a whole 
• Offering free IT training to employees of the TBBL using TBL Training Centers 

Techno Brain BPO / ITES, is an ISO 9001:2008 Certified business process outsourcing & IT enabled services division of Africa’s leading ICT Solutions and Education & Training Provider, TechnoBrain Group. Techno Brain BPO / ITES offers specially tailored, affordable, quality and high end solutions in the areas of Voice, Data, Knowledge Process management and IT enabled Services to organizations in Africa, Asia and the USA.