Safaricom 2018 Sustainable Business Report

58 INTRODUCTION OUR BUSINESS OUR MATERIAL TOPICS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT 2018 SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT SOCIETY We consider our society to be, first and foremost, the Kenyan people, and then the broader regional and global community within which we operate. We take pride in being a responsible corporate citizen and productive member of Kenyan society. We remain committed to working closely with Kenyans to be a respected and empowering contributor to the social and economic development of the country. We acknowledge that the society that surrounds us is an integral part of who we are and what enables our success, providing us with a conducive operating environment and a market for our products and services. OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH KENYAN SOCIETY We take our broader corporate role and responsibilities very seriously and consider every Kenyan citizen to be a member of our society. As a result, the needs and expectations of our society extend beyond those of our customers and include: safeguarding the natural heritage of the nation and operating in an environmentally friendly manner; partnering with government, communities, NGOs and individuals to empower and uplift our fellow Kenyans; providing access to health, education, empowerment and agricultural services; as well as providing access to transformative mobile communications solutions. Our relationship with Kenyan society remained positive during the year, despite the turmoil brought about by the prolonged electioneering period and the call for a boycott of our services. CREATING SHARED VALUE We deliver value to the Kenyan society within which we operate on an ongoing basis as a top Kenyan tax payer and employer, and by engaging and empowering groups and individuals throughout the country in a variety of diverse ways. The services we provide through our network enhance and transform the lives of Kenyans every day, we also invest in communities directly, and have an active Corporate Social Investment (CSI) programme through the Safaricom and the M-PESA Foundations. Along with these ongoing channels, a few of the specific ways in which we have delivered value to Kenyan society during the year included: Award-winning health payments solution bringing healthcare to one million low- income earners M-Tiba has continued to grow at a rapid rate and now has just under one million active users, who are able to receive treatment at over 400 accredited medical facilities in the Nairobi, Mt Kenya, Western and Nyanza regions, and who have redeemed more than KES 200 million on healthcare to date. M-Tiba is a health payments solution with an ‘e-wallet’ that enables low-income earners to save towards their healthcare expenses and helps donors to target funds accurately and confidently. M-Tiba was awarded the ‘Shared Value’ award at the 2017 Loeries Awards for creative excellence in Durban, South Africa, and the ‘Achievement in Sustainable Development’ award at the FT/IFC Transformational Business Awards in London, England, in June 2017. S D G 3