Standing Together: Going Beyond

OUR RESPONSE TO COVID 19

We activated our pandemic response plan and crisis management team in January 2020 as it rapidly became apparent to us that we were dealing with a global pandemic that would have far reaching implications not just in China, but globally.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the way in which we are all connected and re-affirmed our belief that our present and future are inextricably linked to the wellbeing of the society that we serve. Against this backdrop, we unhesitatingly stepped up to support our stakeholders during the pandemic. A snapshot of how we did so is set out below, with further COVID-related actions woven into the narrative throughout this report.

Support to Staff

Voluntary, free COVID testing for staff and dependants. Over 6 000

Case management programme through our company health adviser for staff who became infected.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) worth over 650M provided to our frontline staff at the shops and in the field.

Salary advances were extended to staff to support them financially during the unprecedented difficulties related to the pandemic.

A team of 20 professional counselling psychologists facilitated counselling support to teams and affected persons.

We established a robust virtual private network to ensure uncompromised data security and supported 1 821 staff with data connections to enable work from

Support to Government

Donated KSh 200 million to the national COVID-19 kitty.

Provided communication support through airtime and bundles for frontline health workers.

Established the 719 helpline at the request of Government. All Kenyans could access the helpline irrespective of their operator of choice.

Support to Communities

“I am proud of what we have been able to achieve and most importantly the critical role that we played in keeping the country connected during the pandemic.”

PETER NDEGWA
Chief Executive Officer Safaricom PLC

Both the M-PESA and Safaricom Foundations were involved in our COVID-19 mitigation response to the community.

Provided 4 000 health workers and 1500 families with food parcels

  • 5 000 health workers: provided with PPE.
  • 165 000 people: provided with clean water, handwashing soap and sanitisation booths
  • 4 350 young learners in informal settlements: provided with smartphones and airtime to enable online learning.
  • KSh 200 million worth of food hampers provided to low income households