Safaricom - 2021 Sustainable Business Report

15 SAFARICOM SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021 //// STANDING TOGETHER: GOING BEYOND / OUR MATERIAL TOPICS / OUR STAKEHOLDERS / KPI SUMMARY to ensure we achieve gender parity at all levels by 2025. We continue to integrate our nine material SDGs which are directly linked to our business growth strategy. Adoption of the SDGs has enabled us to become a more sustainable company, creating meaningful impact for communities that we serve. Last year we launched the Safaricom Sustainable Future Series which is a thought leadership platform that seeks to convene business leaders to discuss and identify solutions to the various sustainability challenges facing our society. The forum aims to identify ways of accelerating private sector’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals. Through this platform, we aim to inspire more business leaders to embark on the bold leadership needed to re-ignite the crucial private sector’s role in achieving the targets set under the 2030 Agenda. EXPANDING TO NEW TERRITORIES At the start of FY21, we submitted a bid for a telecommunications operating licence in Ethiopia. In May 2021, Ethiopia Communications Authority announced that Global Partnership for Ethiopia which is a consortium led by Safaricom and comprised of Vodacom, Vodafone, Sumitomo and CDC had formally been granted one of the licences to offer telecommunications services in Ethiopia. We are excited at the growth prospects that this opportunity presents as this opens for us a new market with over 4 million SMEs and a population that is projected to hit 150 million by 2030. We hope that our entry into the Ethiopian market will usher in a new dawn of digital revolution that will transform the lives of the Ethiopian people. We are currently focused on setting up operations and rolling out the network ahead of our commercial launch in 2022. I wish to thank the team that was actively involved in delivering this bid leading to the licence award, and the members of the consortium for their dedication and support in seeing this process through. STANDING TOGETHER, GOING BEYOND In closing, I would like to thank my team who have each held their inch not only to deliver on our business objectives, but also in keeping the country connected during the difficult period occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. As articulated in the theme of this report “Standing Together: Going Beyond,” I am excited about what the future holds and what lies ahead in the coming days. Projections show strong signs of economic recovery as the government continues to source and provide vaccines for Kenyans; which will in turn ease restrictive measures. Businesses like ours, in the technology space, will play a key role in rebuilding through inclusive business models and partnerships that scale up innovations and enable digital lifestyles. I’m confident in the new strategic direction that we have taken. We are in a good position to pivot into the next phase of growth in becoming a purpose-led technology company. Peter Ndegwa Chief Executive Officer Safaricom PLC “Adoption of the SDGs has enabled us to become a more sustainable company, creating meaningful impact for communities that we serve.”