at somos, we're all about co-ownership, collaboration, and community!
our impact fund supports core community partners who are aligned with our mission to champion language, worker and migrant rights.
they receive 1% of our gross merchandising value and a shareholding in somos.
discover our unique approach below!
how our co-ownership model works for our community partners
our core community partners receive 500 shares each with the same financial and voting rights as the founder and investors.
this entitles them to dividends and a payout in the event somos is sold.
1% of all cash flowing through the platform from product sales is split equally amongst our core community partners.
in addition, we donate another 1% of any extra somos revenue to our impact fund, which is then divided equally among our core community partners 😄
we happily provide our community partners with:
⭐️ complimentary access to our technology (or at cost if offered by a third party).
⭐️ entry to our discount marketplace in collaboration with builtfirst.
we're so excited to welcome the amazing conversation over borders as our first core community partner!
learn more about them and our partnership... 👇🏾
we're buzzing with excitement and can finally share why... social enterprise conversation over borders (cob) is now officially a co-owner in somos! cob becomes the first of our core community partners taking equity in the business.
"somos' model is genuinely innovative; subverting the structure of other online teaching platforms to put the power back into the hands of teachers and people of all nationalities and languages and actively championing indigenous and minoritized languages.
what makes this partnership so exciting is our shared core values and drive to innovate for better. somos and conversation over borders hold deeply-rooted belief in the value of community-led and owned support, the protection of linguistic and cultural knowledge, grounding work in wellbeing, protecting the right to migrate and the importance of collaboration.
this partnership opens up pathways of mutual learning, resource-sharing and benefits for the somos and conversation over borders communities. it strengthens our ability to be dynamic in reaching the needs of our community with imagination and connects us to a wider community of people and organisations who are aligned with our goals!
we stand in admiration of somos' commitment to embedding their values through the co-ownership model and we are honoured to be asked to work alongside them as a core community partner. we can't wait for this new chapter and to see what the future holds!"
a unique set up comes with questions! here are some common ones but of course if you have more, please feel free to get in touch 😀
our first community co-owner is the incredible conversation over borders! you can find out more about our partnership here .
in the coming months, we'll be adding other amazing orgs focused on:
🔹 championing language, worker, and migrant rights
🔹 promoting education and lifelong learning
🔹 preserving endangered, minoritized, and indigenous languages
🔹 empowering refugees and migrants in diaspora.
stay tuned for our announcements!
great question! we believe in aligning our long-term future with the communities we serve.
if somos thrives, we want to share that success with the grassroots organizations doing amazing work in language, culture, and people protection. 🤝
traditional csr and diversity and inclusion programs can be pretty top-down. we're all about building with, not just for, the communities we work in.
by giving our partners shares with the same financial and voting rights as our other investors, we're making sure we stay directly accountable to them.
it's about collaboration and shared success! 🌟
nope, somos is actually a for-profit social enterprise! 🚀
while we do aim to make a profit, what sets us apart is our commitment to co-ownership and creating a positive impact on society.
our unique ownership model allocates equity to our team, teachers and grassroots community organizations, making them part of the somos project.
our governing documents require us to consider key stakeholders like employees, partners, and the wider community when making decisions. so, while we're a business, we're all about balancing profit, purpose, and shared ownership! 💡
absolutely! we're always excited to collaborate with organizations that align with our mission, especially those focused on:
1️⃣ teaching or facilitating the learning of endangered, minoritized & indigenous languages
2️⃣ supporting refugees and migrants in diaspora (e.g., offering free local language classes, protecting rights, etc.)
3️⃣ broadening access to digital education
4️⃣ promoting mental health and wellbeing.
if you're a charity or community organization interested in working with us or think our platform could help you, please don't hesitate to get in touch!
we'd love to chat and explore possibilities together. 🌍💫
at somos, we're proud to be community-backed! with 23 investors participating in our pre-seed fundraising round, we've built a strong foundation that values equity ownership for employees, teachers, and grassroots community organizations.
together, we're forging a future built on co-ownership and collaboration. 🌟
we're an edtech startup on a mission to help language teachers earn & live well.
if you've taught languages online with platforms like preply, italki, and cambly, we'd love to hear from you!
help us build the teaching platform you want from the ground up. 🌍
Our excellent customer support team is ready to help.
