Samasource (IFC-47109)

Countries
  • Uganda
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Borrower
Samasource Impact Sourcing, Inc.
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Communications
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 10.00 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Feb 19, 2023

Disclosed by Bank Dec 16, 2022

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

Founded in 2008, with 4,500+ workers in Africa, Sama is a B Corp Certified, AI data annotation company providing solutions that help prepare, train, and optimize AI algorithms so they can accurately recognize and differentiate data.

IFC is considering an investment of up to US$10 million in Sama, and the project is expected to be supported by the IDA20 Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility. The funding will primarily be used to expand the Company’s operations in Uganda.

According to the IFC's website, the project outcomes will be: (i): Direct employment opportunities for workers in Uganda, especially women and disadvantaged youth, resulting in improved livelihoods and skills upgrading. (ii) Stronger integration of Uganda's digital entrepreneurship ecosystem, via capacity building channels. 

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actor Relationship
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Sama was founded by the late Leila Janah in Kenya. The Leila Janah Foundation is Sama’s largest shareholder, as it ensures continuity of the founder’s vision for Sama.

Other notable existing shareholders include Caisse de Dépôt et de Placement du Québec (CDPQ), Ridge Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Rubio Impact Ventures, First Ascent Ventures, Vistara Capital Partners.

Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Samasource Ltd is a company in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry that help prepare, train, and optimize AI algorithms so they can accurately recognize and differentiate data. Headquartered in San Fernando valley in the United States of America, the company has operations in Kenya, Uganda, Canada, and the Netherlands. The company was established in 2008 as a non-profit that aimed at providing IT skills and employment to people from low income and disadvantaged backgrounds. In 2019 Sama transitioned from a non-profit to a profit-making social enterprise and received B-Corp Certification (https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/certification) in 2020. The company operations consist of a variety of undertakings including data collection and analysis, information verification, transcription, content moderation and enrichment for AI enhanced applications in areas such as medical services, e-commerce and retail, travel, social media, mobility and vehicle safety.  

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Samasource Impact Sourcing, Inc. Client Communications

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

General IFC Inquiries - IFC Communications:

Address: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20433
Telephone: 202-473-3800
Fax: 202-974-4384

Borrower - Samasource Impact Sourcing, Inc.:

Sama Wendy Gonzalex - CEO
Phone: +12067698709
Email: wgonzalez@sama.com
Address: 6795 Rue Marconi,Montréal, Québec H2S 3J9, Canada
Website: www.sama.com

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

How it works

How it works