Impact
Souk’s social impact spans three areas:
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Job Creation: we are creating gig-based jobs for college-educated youth in Morocco, which will alleviate the nation’s unusually high youth unemployment rate.​
Economic Opportunity: by opening up the customer base for Moroccan artisans globally and online, we are increasing incomes of one of the poorest sectors of the population.
Women’s Empowerment: Souk strives to have at least equal numbers of female and male participants in each level of our organizational structure, meaning job creation for female artisans, agents, and managers.
SOUK BY THE NUMBERS
SOCIAL IMPACT MEASURES
By the end of our Fifth Year, Souk will have created:
$1.159M
Income in USD paid in commission to Moroccan agents
$5.795M
USD in sales paid to Moroccan artisans for their goods
$120K
USD paid in salaries to Moroccans
$10.681M
Funneled into the Moroccan economy, benefitting mostly lower-class citizens
63
Full-time equivalent agent positions to be filled by young Moroccans
2967
Moroccan artisans livelihoods fully supported through sales on Souk
WHAT SOUK DOES ON AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
Muhammad graduated from University with degrees in International Business and English Language in 2018, but he has been unable to find a job. As a result, he is continuing to live at home with his parents—relying on their income streams to support his needs—and spends most of his time goofing off with his friends who are in the same boat. Muhammad and his friends have considered starting their own tourism business, but they aren’t quite sure how to get started and lack access to capital. It seems like the only way to get a job is to make one.
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Then Muhammad hears about Souk from his friend Idris. Muhammad signs up to be a Souk Agent, and starts out working with just 5 Artisans. However, those 5 quickly become 10, and now Muhammad spends 30 hours a week managing orders for Souk. He is now making an income of almost 6000dh, equivalent to US $600, each month. Muhammad is able to move out from his family home and rent his own apartment. He is saving money to someday leave his position with Souk and start his own business. He is also engaged to Senae, a young nurse who is the daughter of one of the Artisans he works with most often; Senae is thrilled that her and her future husband both have steady sources of income so that they can hopefully start a family in the near future. For the first time in his life, Muhammad feels confident and happy.
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Senae’s father, Abdul, has been working with Muhammad to sell his leather products to buyers in the U.S. He is grateful to Souk because the extra income he made from those sales helped him ensure his daughter could finish nursing school. While college is free in Morocco, Senae had to work nearly 30 hours a week at a grocery store in order to supplement the family income, which made her educational progress slow and made it hard for her to study enough to pass her exams. Once Abdul started selling with Souk, the family income has more than doubled. Senae was able to quit her job and focus on college, which she just graduated from in the spring, and now there is enough money for Senae’s younger sister to also attend college full-time without having to work. Abdul can afford to fully educate his children and is significantly less stressed than he was when sales were limited domestically. He is able to get his wife the diabetic treatment she needs, and buy his children more than one pair of shoes each. The family is also now able to save for Abdul and his wife’s retirement.
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Souk has the ability to drastically change the lives of Agents and Artisans alike. While this portrait provides a look at how Souk promotes change on an individual level, it is encouraging to see how many Moroccans like Abdul and Muhammad can be impacted by Souk.