Safaricom spends Sh64.8b on local suppliers as women gain

Safaricom's Alliance for Science- Executive Director Dr Sheila Ochugboju, CEO Peter Ndegwa and Chairman Adil Khawaja during the launch of the 2023 Safaricom Business report. [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

Safaricom procured Sh64.8 billion worth of good and services from local businesses as it inches closer to 10 per cent procurement from women-owned businesses.

According to the company's latest Sustainability Business Report, the telco spent Sh102 billion on suppliers in the fiscal year ended March 2023.

There were 720 suppliers during the period, which was a drop from 799 in 2022 and 831 in the 2021 financial year.

Of these, 550 were local and 170 foreign. The spend with foreign suppliers during the period stood at Sh37.2 billion, which was 36.47 per cent of the total.

The report released yesterday indicates that Safaricom is making strides in its goal of promoting local businesses.

"Spend with local suppliers increased by just over two percentage points year on year," the report reads.

"The number of suppliers has decreased in line with our strategy of consolidation.

The telco notes in the report that there is progress in its goal to ensure women-owned businesses account for 10 per cent of procurement expenditure.

"While we did not achieve this goal, it is pleasing to note that the spend with Women in Business (WIB) increased to 5.81 per cent of our total procurement spend.

"This is attributable to contracts awarded to WIB in the technology networks category -an area of significant spend," the report says.

This was Safaricom's 12th Sustainability Business Report.

"Sustainability reporting is not just a corporate responsibility but an essential pillar of our business strategy," said Chief Executive Peter Ndegwa.

"Being accountable on environmental, social and governance (ESG) ensures that we remain committed to our core -transforming lives."

The company says it is currently setting up ESG structures and policies in the Ethiopia business and will from the next report, highlight Safaricom Group's sustainability efforts and milestones.

"We are proud to be a catalyst for positive change in Kenya, Ethiopia, and the rest of the world," said board Chairman Adil Khawaja.

"We will continue to innovate, adapt, and work diligently to ensure that Safaricom continues to connect millions to financial services, empowering communities and driving economic growth."

The report says the telco now has 40 per cent of women in senior management and a diversity of 45 per cent women in the board.

It says Safaricom sustained over 1.2 million jobs - 236,674 direct and 1,159,309 indirect - and contributed Sh909.5 billion into the Kenyan economy in the past financial year.

The money added to the Kenyan economy was approximately 15 times greater than the financial profit made during the year.

This is attributed to the value created for customers, agents, and merchants through M-Pesa (17 per cent increase from 2022), as well as the growth in economic impact created through Safaricom's capital and operational expenditures during the period under review, shows the report.

Safaricom said it recently secured a Sh15 billion sustainability-linked loan with a consortium of banks including Standard Chartered, KCB, Stanbic and Absa to finance key areas oof net zero carbon emmissions, tracking gender diversity and establishing social equity.