The problem

Over 16 million women smallholder farmers in West Africa depend on raw shea commodities production for survival. Shea trees have also become important in Ghana’s fight against desertification. Over 400 million shea trees in Ghana contribute towards the income of one million shea farmers households.

Every year, around 20,000 hectares of Ghanaian land is lost due to desertification. This continuing trend is contributing to increased global warming, and the loss of livelihoods of millions of women and children that depend on the shea nut industry. This situation is challenging their survival and leading them further into hunger and poverty.

The shea tree is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list. Since these trees are mostly grow in the wild, they are not appropriately mapped and protected, which has resulted in contributing towards some disturbing trends in northern Ghana. According to Ghana’s the Environmental Protection Agency, around 80% of the charcoal produced in Northern Ghana comes from shea trees. This poses a great threat to the preservation of shea trees and their immense value to the country.

The company

Sommalife is a social enterprise that uses cutting-edge software technology to create value for smallholder farmers and the stakeholder. They connect smallholder farmers to international markets, resource them to become agents of environmental conservation, and provide easy-to-use technological tools for food and cosmetic manufacturers to track their products and impact. Sommalife’s proprietary software, TreeSyt, enables field agents to digitise operations such as commodity purchases, farmer training, and tree management in communities with poor or no internet connection conditions. The team consists of young and innovative personnel, working to make Sommalife a leading business in socio-economic and environmental impact in rural West Africa.

Project description

Sommalife is enhancing its proprietary software, TreeSyt, to digitise 90,000 female smallholder farmers in northern Ghana. The aim of the project is to create climate resilience and economic gains for these smallholder farmers by connecting them to international buyers and training them in sustainable agriculture. Sommalife will support the farmers to raise over 50,000 seedlings and protect 1,500 acres of shea parklands in their communities. In the long term, these conservation activities will contribute to carbon sequestration and enable trained farmers to participate in the carbon markets.

Founders

JohnCarl Dunyo – Co-founder and CEO

Christina Mawuse Gyisun – Co-founder and COO

Quote from Founder

Our impact isn’t just measured in tons of produce but in testimonies of empowered farmers. Sommalife is more than agriculture; it is a revolution of sustainability and empowerment

Team

51 staff members.