Systemic restructuring of the shea supply chain
Together with our partners, we are on a mission to provide sustained income and impact for rural people – starting with shea producers!
Sommalife is a social enterprise that merges technology, high productivity and environmental responsibility to produce impact in rural communities. We have a vision to create sustained income and impact for rural people and connect major stakeholders in the shea value chain through technology.
Together, we can reach more people.
We provide resources for women groups in shea producing communities to produce high quality in large volumes. Bottlenecks such as manual operations, walking long distances to local markets and middlemen are reduced. Then we connect local producers to international markets, earning fair wages and additional income.
Our approach
We train
We provide valuable resources for rural people in shea producing communities to produce high quality products in large volumes. Our practical capacity building sessions equip local producers with skills to produce high quality finished products that set them apart from the rest of the market. They are also trained in financial management and given business strategies that will
make them effective microbusiness owners.
We equip
We eliminate many obstacles that slow down smallholder farmers involved in the shea value chain. Sommalife relieves the burdens of rural women who have to carry their commodities over long distances for processing and sales. Our network of agents source right from the communities. Producers also have access to processing equipment that reduces the labor intensiveness of their production.
We connect
We connect rural people in shea producing communities to international markets. We connect local producers to global buyers (exporters & manufacturers) which greatly improves their income and saves them from exploitation by local aggregators. We ensure fair prices are paid to local producers, currently 18% above market value.
