About one million jobs have been sustained in the last financial year, the highest since 2016, implying an increase of nine percent by the leading telco company Safaricom (NSE: SCOM), the 2019 Sustainable Business Report has disclosed.
The 979,000 jobs were supported by an 11 percent increase in the company’s contribution to the economy, which hit Kshs 601 billion; 9.6 times the profit earned in the previous financial year that ended on March 31, 2019.
The firm is reported to have created 979,000 both directly and indirectly from 897,372 in 2018. Out of this, Safaricom sustained 187,756 employees.
“The true value assessment shows that the value created for Kenyan society in March 2019 was Sh601 billion, 10.7 percent from the contribution made in the same period ending 2018,” read part of the report.
The 8th report which was centered on the 10th Sustainable Development Goal Reducing inequalities showed how the company is using a sustainable business model to address society’s needs and goes beyond the company’s financial performance to give a more intimate and accurate description of its business.
Our business continues to contribute towards successfully improving the quality of life for Kenyans across the country, creating sustainable livelihoods and delivering a wide range of products, services, and initiatives that support businesses, and families,” said Stephen Chege, Safaricom Chief Corporate Affairs Officer.
The financial value in earning to shareholders grew from Ksh 55.28 billion to Ksh 62.49 billion while social externalities increased by Ksh200 billion through M-Pesa, jobs, and social investments.
The giant telco company has also increased its expenditure on goods and services expenditure from Kshs1.9 billion to Ksh 2.4 billion after sustained focus on increasing the number of people with disabilities within Safaricom and growing the number of women-owned women-led businesses within the company’s supply chain.
“As the nature of our business has evolved over the last 18 years, so has the way we approach business. Last year, we focused on the theme of Shared Value and highlighted how we had continued to expand our business approach to generate greater returns for a broader range of stakeholders. Building on this theme, we deployed a more advanced approach to our sustainability agenda in 2019, by focusing on activities aimed at reducing inequalities, as envisioned by Sustainable Development Goal 10,” said Mr. Nicholas Nganga, Chairman of the Safaricom Board of Directors.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed company made a net profit of Sh62.5billion and a 7.1 percent growth in total revenue growing to Sh250.96 billion.
