People with business ideas are dime a dozen. Some of those have the business acumen to turn a profit from that idea. Then there are those entrepreneurs who want to do business in a way that makes the world a little better than it was earlier. The daughter of Indian immigrants and American entrepreneur Leila Janah was one such entrepreneur. Sadly she died recently from a rare form of cancer at just 37 years of age.
Leila Janah founded Samasource; the name including the Sanskrit word ‘sama’, which refers to a ‘level playing field’. The company provides “high-quality, human-powered training data and validation for AI and machine learning” and works towards sustainability and against world poverty. Interestingly, Janah found a way to use the digital economy to give employment to low-income people in India and Africa.
Half of the employees of Samasource are women; as importantly, the company provides fair wages to about 11,000 workers at different places in the world. In places such as Kenya and India, people with basic English skills and a some training are able to carry out tasks for large companies such as Google, GM, IBM, Microsoft, Walmart, Philips etc. These are complex data projects that have been broken down into smaller tasks. The workers; often living below the poverty line not only earn a living wage but also receive other benefits such as transport, healthcare, low cost meals and professional development.
Janah had founded another company; a skincare company called LXMI with products such as hydrating lotions, facial balms, highlighters, plant oil and so on. The primary ingredient of the product is Nilotica nuts which are grown by underprivileged women in areas along the Nile River. The produce is turned into butter and then used to make luxury prodcuts.
Women can grow the nuts in around their own homes and earn up to three times the local wage. This provides women employment in a way that could help resolve problems such as under nourishment and even human trafficking.
There is no doubt that businesses can and should have the profit motive. However if more entrepreneurs tried to use ethical practices it can end up making an actual difference to world poverty. On a visit to the poor areas of Ghana, Janah realised “how poverty oppresses people.”The brand ethos of LXMI is that the way we treat people matters; the belief that work is at the core of human dignity. “Giving work is the ultimate solution to global poverty,” says the company’s ethos statement.
Hers was a promising life cut down in its prime. She died from complications arising from a rare form of cancer called epithelioid sarcoma. It was perhaps because of her Indian heritage or perhaps because she saw the kind of opportunities that people have in more developed countries that she wanted to try and make a difference to underprivileged people. It can be more difficult to source work out to the really deserving. It can be tough and costly to find and train people to do those jobs.
However this is entrepreneurship not just for profit; but for the greater good. It can be a win-win situation for employers as well as employees. There is talent and ability in less privileged societies that is just waiting to be tapped. Leila Janah saw this potential and “tapped” this “intellect of the poor”. She was that unusual thing – a business person and a compassionate human being who tried to leave the world a little bit better than she found it.
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