The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (known in native Dutch as Stichting Onderzoek Multinationale Ondernemingen or SOMO) is an Amsterdam-based nonprofit that promotes left-of-center political and social regulatory action against multinational businesses. SOMO opposes the second Trump administration, right-of-center European governments, and major technology companies, and it supports the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. ¹

Founding

In the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations’ telling, in 1973 socialist Chilean President Salvador Allende was overthrown in a coup by Augusto Pinochet with support from the U.S. government and aligned multinational companies operating in Chile. The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations was one of many nonprofits formed in the aftermath of the coup by left-leaning activists in Europe “to monitor the activities and interests of multinationals operating” in third-world countries. ²

Advocacy

The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations supports left-of-center legal and social policies. SOMO also describes its efforts as “restraining corporate power” to promote “social justice.” SOMO opposes the notion that corporations should operate to maximize shareholder value as well as pro-market economic policies that it characterizes as favoring “growth at all costs.” ^{3 1 4}

“Far Right”

According to its 2024 annual report, SOMO’s work that year was “dominated by the relentless advance of far-right, racist agendas and the repeated refusal of corporate and political elites to meaningfully act to combat climate change.” SOMO identified the second Trump administration as a part of the “far-right” due to its opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, its “aggressive deregulation agenda,” and its stance on climate change. The report concluded with a call for “radical action” against far-right movements in Western Europe, including a movement “to take back the wealth that has been unjustly and unjustifiably accumulated by a tiny minority, largely through the exploitation of people and nature.” ¹

Technology Companies

SOMO generally opposes American technology companies and the “arrogant belief of the tech sector that it can fix and run the world.” SOMO claims big tech companies are undermining Western democracies by opposing American and particularly European regulations on technology and working conditions. ¹

Israel

SOMO opposes the State of Israel, its treatment of the Gaza Strip, and its conduct in the war against Hamas. SOMO describes Israel as perpetrating a “genocide” against the Palestinians. ¹ As of February 2026, the SOMO homepage contained a banner at the top reading “End genocide now” in reference to Israel and Gaza. ⁵

SOMO’s opposition to Israel includes calling for a fuel embargo, an arms embargo, sanctions on key figures in the Israeli government and military, a suspension of trade missions with Israel, a cessation of investments into Israeli investment funds, international reviews of third-party support for Israeli activities in Gaza, and support for “accountability efforts” by the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, and the UN Security Council to prosecute Israelis responsible for the conflict in Gaza. ^{6 4}

The Counter

The Counter is a project of the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations dedicated to providing research on corporate activity regarding “societal and environmental harms” to “activists, public interest journalists, NGOs, trade union representatives, strategic litigators, and communities” with goals that align with SOMO. All research is conducted with public records. ⁷

Kenya Sexual Abuse Scandal

One of the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations’ best-known projects is a report jointly published with the Kenya Human Rights Commission in 2023 on extensive sexual abuse, harassment, and exploitation at Wildlife Works between 2011 and 2023. Wildlife Works is a California-based firm that generates carbon credits by protecting forests housing rare wildlife near Mombasa, Kenya, and has provided climate credit services to companies including Netflix and Shell. ⁸

Funding

In 2024, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations reportedly earned €8,713,906 ($10,380,266) in revenue. Of this sum, €4,265,165 ($5,080,844) reportedly came from government grants and €455,642 ($542,747) reportedly came from government “lottery organisations.” Government funders included the U.S. Department of State, and the governments of the Netherlands and Finland. In January 2025, funding to the Centre from the U.S. Department of State’s Government Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs for “promoting labour rights in China” was terminated by the second Trump administration. ¹

From 2019 to 2023, SOMO earned almost $5.5 million from the Ford Foundation and nonprofits connected to left-of-center billionaire George Soros, including the Open Society Foundations. ⁴ Other nonprofit funders include the National Endowment for Democracy, the Laudes Foundation, the European Coalition for Corporate Justice, and the Freedom Fund. ¹

SOMO claims not to accept funding from businesses or their associated foundations. ²

1. “Rising against the tide.” SOMO 2024. Accessed February 9, 2026. https://somo2024.jaarverslag.org/foreword/.
2. “FAQs.” SOMO. Accessed February 9, 2026. https://www.somo.nl/contact/faqs/.
3. “About Us.” SOMO. Accessed February 9, 2026. https://www.somo.nl/about-somo/.
4. Kredo, Adam. “Soros, Ford Foundation Fund European Nonprofit Targeting US Companies for Doing Business in Israel.” Washington Free Beacon. December 9, 2025. Accessed February 9, 2026. https://freebeacon.com/america/soros-ford-foundation-fund-european-nonprofit-targeting-us-companies-for-doing-business-in-israel/.
5. “Homepage.” SOMO. Accessed February 9, 2026. https://www.somo.nl/.
6. “Israel/OPT: SOMO calls upon states to suspend existing trade or economic association agreements with Israel & impose economic sanctions.” Business and Human Rights Centre. April 16, 2024. Accessed February 9, 2026. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/israelopt-somo-calls-upon-states-to-suspend-existing-trade-or-economic-association-agreements-with-israel-impose-economic-sanctions/.
7. “Frequently Asked Questions.” The Counter. Accessed February 9, 2026. https://www.somo.nl/the-counter/faqs-the-counter/.
8. Greenfield, Patrick. “Allegations of extensive sexual abuse at Kenyan offsetting project used by Shell and Netflix.” The Guardian. November 7, 2023. Accessed February 9, 2026. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/07/accusations-of-widespread-sexual-abuse-at-offsetting-project-used-by-netflix-and-shell-aoe.