Innocent James has been a cacatalyst for the transformation of rural communities, motivated by the desire to bring about change and instill a lifelong reading habit in primary school students in Mwanza.
In this spirit, he founded Soma Factories Tanzania, a Mwanza-based social enterprise that manufactures solar bags from renewable cement bags. The rechargeable solar light bags help students in rural areas study at night by providing illumination, through a rechargeable light, that lasts for up to eight hours per day.
Soma factories have sold over one thousand bags in Tanzania and are collaborating with UNICEF and Plan International to improve rural Tanzanians’ access to education. In addition, Innocent co-founded My Little Traveling Library to promote a love of reading and independent learning among primary school students in rural Mwanza, Tanzania. In 2016, over 2,400 students in 15 schools benefited from the network of mobile handcart libraries that delivered books and interactive reading lessons led by university student volunteers.
After the airing of the show, Soma factories in Tanzania sold over one hundred bags and received over one hundred inquiries from individuals interested in collaborating, interning, and volunteering. With an average of 3.6 million views on Azam TV, Innocent James has been able to achieve enormous results with his innovation by having both direct and indirect effects on the community.
“We founded Imara Tech with the sole intention of impacting the lives of youth and rural communities. Imara Tech has already employed most of thee youth and shown them through our work how they can become self-employed and have a positve impact on the community. Together we have reached 12,000 farms, and for me as an enterpreneur, that represents our greatest achievement.” Alfred Chengula .
Currently, Innocent is utilising the teaser of the Kijana Leo TV Episode to as his pitch deck, encouraging donors to purchase additional bags, and more than three investors have expressed interest in purchasing 50 bags per month for Mwanza students. In addition, four radio interviews have been conducted as part of the the TV Episode’s impact. Recently, Innocent was selected as one of the 26 winners of the Funguo investee program to receive a grant of 100 million TZS (about 42,721.604 USD) for the expansion of his business.
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