Read Leila’s Interview with Fear.lessLeila: The idea of Samasource came together when I was in Kenya in late’07 on a safari vacation with a good friend of mine. I asked him if he could connect me to some local entrepreneurs because I wanted to see what Kenyan entrepreneurs were doing. So we did, and an overwhelming number of these entrepreneurs were entering the digital work-space… Read More
Read about “Hyperspecialization”By Thomas W. Malone, Robert J. Laubacher, and Tammy Johns
Managing in a world of Hyperspecialization
In any given company, hyperspecialization might reshape the organization in many ways, from the macro to the micro level of task assignment. Some of the tasks of a certain role might be hived off, or entire job categories and processes might be upended. Managers might focus on lower-value-added tasks, as the clients of Samasource do when they hand over data entry. Or they might see greater value in tapping world-class expertise for high-end tasks. For instance, Business Talent Group and YourEncore have networks of freelance experts who provide clients with short-term, high-priced, but ideally higher-value consultation.
Read how Samasource leverages work to alleviate povertyBy Ben Bowlin
Each year, the developed world pours billions of dollars in aid to developing countries — in 2006, private aid in the United States alone added up to about 34.8 billion dollars. And, while this money has certainly made some sort of difference, it hasn’t solved the chronic problems of developed countries: High rates of crime and corruption, disease and a lack of access to basic resources still plague poor countries. No matter how much aid is given in one year, it seems more will be needed in the next. Why?
Read about Samasource’s newest iPhone appBy Tricia Duryee
A company founded by two former AdMob employees is coming out of stealth mode today to unveil a new way to make paying for things inside applications much easier.
In fact, it’s as easy as taking a picture.
Card.io, which was founded by Mike Mettler and Josh Bleecher, has raised $1 million in seed funding. Angel investors include Michael Dearing of Harrison Metal; Jeff Clavier and Charles Hudson of SoftTech; Manu Kumar of K9 Ventures; Alok Bhanot, a former PayPal exec; and Omar Hamoui, AdMob’s founder.
Read about Samasource and MicroworkMulago Foundation
The waste of potential is even starker in refugee camps where the educated sit idle. Donor enthusiasm for computers in Africa has created underutilized computer centers, while firms in the U.S. are already outsourcing simple computer-based tasks they need to have done. Leila Chirayath Janah saw that the Internet could connect the two to bring decent jobs to those who need them most. Samasource (“sama” means “equal” in Sanskrit) connects jobless women, youth, and refugees to dignified, computer-based work, such as data entry, converting PDFs into text files, or judging the content of images for big websites.
Read how Leila Janah is one of “9 For All Mankind”By Nojan Aminosharei, Allison Davis, Corrie Pikul, and Julia Vadnal
Leila Chirayath Janah, 28
Founder of Samasource
The Problem: “I wanted to learn why countries like Ghana and India, which have such incredible human talent, are so poor.”
Big Idea: Samasource (sama means “equal” in Sanskrit), an organization that outsources simple data-entry and media-tagging tasks for companies like Google to people in low-income countries. Since 2008, Samasource has hired more than 1,200 workers, but “my dream is to show that we can become a $100 million organization with tens of thousands of workers. And do it as a nonprofit.”
Read how Samasource finds work for the poorBy Kerry A. Dolan
Leila Chirayath Janah is only 28, but it didn’t take her long to come to the conclusion that massive foreign aid isn’t the solution to poverty. She wrestled with the issue while working at the World Bank and, before that, at Harvard majoring in African development. What many of the poor people she met really wanted was a job that pays decently.
So three years ago she started a San Francisco-based nonprofit called Samasource, which serves as a work link between tech companies in the U.S. and poor people overseas.
