Safaricoms job contribution hits record one million

Leading telecom operator Safaricom supported a record 1,013,728 jobs within its extended value chain in the past one year.

The value measured in the company’s annually published sustainability report represent a 3.6 per cent increase in jobs sustained from 978,633 last year.

Safaricom valued its contribution to the Kenyan economy at Ksh.654 billion representing an equivalent nine percent increase in value from a year back and an equivalent six per cent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The company’s value, audited by global consultancy firm KPMG, included 192,747 direct and indirect jobs with the highest driver of the contribution coming from operations and capital projects.

The number of extended jobs directly under Safaricom’s belt has grown by 23 per cent since 2017 and aligns to the company’s goal to link its business with sustainability goals.

“We take the sustainability agenda as a critical part of our strategy and we have done a lot of work over the years to link the work we do in our business to sustainable development goals. We see ourselves as role models in the market but with a lot of headroom to continue to do more,” said Safaricom PLC CEO Peter Ndegwa.

Safaricom’s extended value chain includes 1,095 suppliers, 440 dealers and 173,259 M-Pesa agents.

The firm spent an estimated Ksh.86.7 billion on payments to suppliers in the year ending March 2020 with local suppliers taking a majority 74 per cent of total spending.

Safaricom’s sustainability goal for the year nevertheless finds itself challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic which has taken a swipe at its core earnings.

However, Safaricom’s Senior Manager for Sustainability and Social Policy Karen Basiye indicates the company remains committed to supporting the country against the rising headwinds.

“We don’t think COVID-19 will significantly impact our true value as we hold dear what we are doing and believe in our own purpose to transform life,” she said.

“Our primary objective has been to keep the country connected but also, one of our big areas has been to support the resilience of both the country and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs),” added Mr. Ndegwa.

Safaricom has continued extending its support to its over 35 million customers through the pandemic including the roll out of the Bonga for Good campaign which allowed the withdrawal of 1.1 billion points for the purchase of essential food products.

Further, the operator has doubled the bandwidth for its fibre customers while supporting frontline health workers with free bundles and SMS packages.

At the end of March, Safaricom booked an extended Ksh.74.7 billion net profit after tax and paid out Ksh.56.1 billion in dividends representing a Ksh.1.40 pay out per share.

The company’s earnings to March 2021 are however expected to be impacted by the pandemic with Safaricom for instance predicting a Ksh.19 billion hit from the waiver of transaction fees for mobile-money transactions not exceeding Ksh.1000.