To say that Safaricom has permeated every sector of our lives is an understatement. It has become such a part of most Kenyan’s lives that some can’t function without it. Take for example the misery that people usually undergo anytime Mpesa is down. From being able to pay for goods at your local shopkeeper’s to paying for a cab via M-PESA not to mention that you hailed the cab using Safaricom data in the case of Uber and also used a Safaricom line to call the cabbie in case they have taken too long to arrive. At lunch time one has the option of paying via mpesa and in the off chance that you feel a bit under the weather, you can go to hospital and pay for the medical bill using the same service. Have I also mentioned that if by bad luck your car gets hijacked, Police can track it using the surveillance system installed by the company? In short the company has been able to penetrate almost all facets of our lives and has proceeded to make a positive contribution in each.
Below are some of the ways Safaricom has touched our lives in one way or another.
1. Direct Employment
The company has a sizeable workforce which from what I hear are well remunerated. As a matter of fact, Safaricom spent a total of Kshs. 12 billion in salaries in the last financial year. Being that a large percentage of the workers are Kenyan, that monies paid out as salaries are spent here bringing a much needed boost to the economy via the purchase of goods and services.
2. Indirect Employment
Safaricom has a wide network of agents spread out across the country some of whom deal in Mpesa while others sell credit. Mpesa agents earned a total of Kshs.14.6 billion in commissions last year while agents who sell credit made up to Kshs. 10 billion in commissions. Not bad at all. Not to mention work subcontracted to ad agencies like Scanad, cleaning firms among others. This has enabled all these firms and individuals to create jobs for Kenyans along the supply chain hence reducing unemployment.
3. Youth Support
The company has over the year launched various initiatives in support of our youth mainly focused at reducing the levels of unemployment. This has seen them launch the Mpesa Foundation Academy which is a school meant to offer secondary education to bright but underprivileged children. The academy accepted their first 94 students in February this year with each county getting 2 slots each. The company also supports technovation by supporting challenges like the Safaricom Appwiz Challenge in which the eventual winners get mentorship and grants to scale up their businesses. Lynk who were the winners last year got a grant of Kshs. 1.5 million. Past winners who have been able to scale up their businesses successfully include M-Ledger which was acquired by Safaricom and has over 150,000 active users and Magazine Reel which has close to 200,000 active users and 1.5 million page views per month. The company also launched Blaze a platform for the youth which offers mentorship opportunities and a chance to win funding for their business.
4. Sports
Kenya is a sports nation given by the number of disciplines that we excel in. The company has recognized this and supported various sports like rugby, athletics, football among others. This year they announced Ksh. 80 million sponsorship of the Safaricom Athletics series. The sponsorship was to also cover National Athletics Championships and trails for the Rio Olympic games. They have also been supporting the Kenya Sevens rugby team other than being the title sponsors for the annual Safaricom Sevens rugby tournament. In 2015 they sponsored sevens rugby to the tune of Kshs.30 million. In football they have partnered with My Professional Dreams Academy in a bid to nurture football talent in the country. After trails those who made it to the academy included 57 boys and 18 girls who were to be offered coaching, nutrition development as well as trails at professional football clubs.
5. Money transfer and payments
Safaricom through their M-PESA platform has greatly enhanced the development of e-commerce in the country. In the past one had to walk to a physical shop and pay cash to get goods but with the advent of M-PESA, one can shop online and pay via M-PESA once the goods have been delivered. One can also buy tickets online, pay for mobile credit, make insurance payments among others all via M-PESA. Nowadays even rival telcos have a Safaricom paybill number for clients who want to pay for their services.