Sama

Helping disadvantaged people learn decidedly new-age skills

Sama, formerly known as Samasource, is a market leader in computer vision technologies, from self-driving cars to smart hardware. Their clients span top-tier tech players like Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Volkswagen.

Specialising in Artificial Intelligence, Sama is helping disadvantaged people from tribes in Kenya and Uganda learn decidedly new-age skills. Ones that can ensure they can make money and provide for their families, and ensure their ongoing relevance in the digital economy.

Today’s autonomous technology demands digital image analysis, yet training these algorithms can only be done by people. By tapping into the abilities of unemployed youth in often overlooked communities, Sama has provided employment opportunities to over 4,000 young people and 10,000 have escaped poverty.

Accelerating growth

This business scores highly on our ‘e-factor’ scale – a pre-requisite for any Social Impact Ventures investment. That is, an ‘e-ssential’ solution that has the benefit of creating a positive outcome and potential for systemic change. Together with Ridge Ventures (Data & AI specialist) and Salesforce Ventures, we’re proud to be accelerating growth for this scale-up.

“Social Impact Ventures is a leader in true impact investing – rooted in measurable social outcomes and financial results, and we’re thrilled to have them on board.”

– Leila Janah, founder & CEO Sama.