Soko

SERVICE

Sale of luxury jewelry, ethical fashion, offering high quality, contemporary design paired with handmade techniques and sustainable materials.

BUSINESS MODEL

Fair Trade – For profit

Artisans retain 25-35% of revenue while industry standards is 2-3%. Virtual factory using mobile phones to coordinate over 1,300 independant artisans into a demand responsive manufacturing model. They receive purchase orders, manage inventory and delivery, and get paid directly on their mobile phone. A cloud system is matching demand with available capacity. This business model reduces waste, time and costs, offering a lower price to the consumer and higher wage to the producer. Soko sells to over 400 international resellers, and directly to 10.000 online consumers.

IMPACT

Place: Kenya

Scale: 1,300 independant artisans

Depth: earning income multiplied by 5 for each artisan

ORIGINS

« We met when we were all living and working in Nairobi, Kenya working at the intersection of design, technology, and community development. Soko was founded in 2012. The company was born out of a love of design, a combination of global perspectives, the desire to connect and empower entrepreneurs via the use of the technology around us, and a belief that women can change the world. » (Catherine Mahugu, cofounder of Soko, Forbes, 2016)

WHAT’S NEXT?

« We just opened our flagship retail store in San Francisco last week and we’re launching beautiful leather bags handmade in Ethiopia next week. We’re working on some exciting brand partnership collaboration and scaling our retail presence internationally through Asia and the EU – all enabling us to grow our artisan network dramatically and begin to meaningfully prove a new model of ethical, international trade! »(Catherine Mahugu, cofounder of Soko, Forbes, 2016)

GET INVOLVED !

As a Client

Visit the e-commerce website of Soko and buy beautiful modern jewelry made in Kenya.

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Get Hired

Want to work for this company? Soko is looking for jewelry designers, graphic designers, sales analyst, and interns…

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