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STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
| SOCIETY | REGULATORS | SHAREHOLDERS | MEDIA | CUSTOMERS
| BUSINESS PARTNERS |
EMPLOYEES |
68
BUSINESS PARTNERS
Our business partners include suppliers, dealers and agents. We rely heavily on
our partners from both an operational perspective and in terms of our reputation
as they are our interface with many of our other important stakeholders. We
also understand that we can play an important role in encouraging sustainable
practices throughout our business ecosystem and value chain by engaging with
our partners in this regard. Our business partner network is currently comprised of
1,200 suppliers, 400 ‘active’ dealers and 130,000+ M-PESA agents.
SUPPLIERS
As the following table shows, we partnered with 1,200 providers and spent a total
of just under KES 84.4 billion on products and services during the reporting period.
This represents a 10% growth in our supplier network and total spend, with the
on-boarding of 110 additional suppliers and an increase of KES 7.6 billion in spend
from FY16 levels. We continue to give preference to local suppliers where feasible
and we are satisfied with the weighting towards Kenyan companies achieved
during the year, with 84% of our providers remaining local.
DEALERS
We have a network of 400 ‘active’ dealers across Kenya that sell data, devices
and airtime on behalf of Safaricom, which is a reduction from the 456 dealers we
had last year. We believe that this is the right size of network to support the market
at the moment so we are not actively on-boarding new dealers and expect this
number to remain fairly stable in the near future. Our current focus is not to increase
the number of dealers, but to help each individual dealer achieve greater volumes
and success. It is more important to review the infrastructure growth created by
our dealer network, rather than the number of active dealers. In FY17, dealers
employed an additional workforce of approximately 1,500 people.
FY17 FY16 FY15
Active Safaricom Dealers
400 456 487
AGENTS
As the following table shows, we also have 130,000+ M-PESA agents who support
and administer M-PESA-related transactions for customers. Our network of agents
grew by nearly 40% during the year in response to growing demand for M-PESA
products and increased usage because of the accelerated rollout of the network
in remoter areas, which facilitated the creation of additional M-PESA outlets, and
our regionalisation programme. The increase also reflects the efforts of Area Sales
Managers and Relationship Managers in helping dealers and agents identify new
areas of opportunity and potential expansion.
FY17
FY16
FY15
M-PESA Agents
130,000+ 100,744 85,756
Total Spend (Local vs Foreign Suppliers)
Total No. of Suppliers
Total Spend (KES billion)
FY15
FY15
FY16
FY16
FY17
FY17
Local
Foreign
0
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1200
800
600
400
200
1000