Safaricom assigns value to its role in economy

Safaricom has launched its value report which, for the first time, shows the true value of the mobile service provider in the Kenyan.

The report, compiled by global consultancy firm KPMG shows that Safaricom, Kenya’s leading mobile operator and most profitable company, contributed a 6 per cent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product market for the financial year 2014/15 during which it generated Ksh315 billion in revenues.

According to KPMG, the report aims at discovering the company’s value beyond the usual financial reports. “The true value report aims to discover an organisation’s value to both the economy and society beyond traditional financial reporting,” Neil Morris, KPMG director, said. “It allows companies to identify how business leaders can better understand the impact their organisations have on an economy.”

Also see: Safaricom scoops employer of choice award

Mobile money transactions through M-Pesa remain Safaricom’s top revenue contributor generating Ksh133 billion, four times the institutions net profit in the last financial year. The report was released after a research conducted by partnering firms, which included interviews to quantify the impact mobile money has had in the lives of users. Some 1,600 people across the country were reportedly interviewed between 1st April 2014 and 30th May 2015.

Through its diverse operations, the report also showed that Safaricom sustained close to 682,000 jobs in Kenya within that financial year, four per cent of the country’s total economically active labour force.

“This tells us that there is a bigger story that has driven Safaricom narrative over the last 15 years,” said Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore. “We now have a picture of our true value beyond our financial results. This value is directly attributable to our deep connection to the market and our continued desire to create solutions.”

Corruption in the country threatens the economy and the participation of investors in the market, it said. With Kenya ranked the 147th corrupt country in the world, almost Ksh20 billion is pulled out of the economy through corrupt deals every year.

However, Mr Collymore has warned the corrupt. “We believe there are processes to curb that (corruption). I would blacklist any corrupt companies wanting to partner with us, no corrupt director would set foot here.”

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