2022 Sustainable Business Report

10 | SAFARICOM SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2022 KPI SUMMARY OUR STAKEHOLDERS OUR MATERIAL TOPICS OUR BUSINESS Partnerships are a key strategic enabler underpinning this ambition. This is highlighted by our collaboration with the Central Bank of Kenya to implement merchant interoperability between the various mobile money networks in the country. Customers can now pay merchants regardless of which network the latter use – a development which benefits both merchants and their customers and aligns with yet another of our strategic pillars of being a ‘financial services provider’. Consumers want to be able to shop and pay anywhere, anytime, safely and at a low cost while also being able to spend and send money internationally as easily as at home. Safaricom has already transformed how money moves in Kenya. We are excited to be working with Visa to develop new and innovative payments products and services that can eliminate barriers to global commerce for merchants and consumers in sub-Saharan Africa, through Visa’s global footprint. We launched the M-PESA GlobalPay Visa Virtual Card in June 2022 to support international online payments. I am optimistic that our strategic partnership with Visa will go a long way in opening the global e-commerce market to Kenya's significant unbanked and underbanked population. In July 2020, we partnered with Google to empower Kenyans to acquire smartphones that they can pay-as-they-use. Since then, over 600 000 Kenyans have benefitted from our Lipa Mdogo Mdogo initiative to enjoy the transformative power of the internet. Yet again, this partnership demonstrates our commitment to bridging the digital divide and providing our customers with relevant solutions that enable them to unlock opportunities. DECREASING OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT The world has seen unprecedented climate events in the last few years. Climate change is having a growing impact on the African continent, hitting the most vulnerable hardest, and contributing to food insecurity. We take our commitment to SDG7: Affordable and Clean Energy very seriously and are committed to becoming a net zero emitting company by 2050. We are achieving this in several ways which include solarising sites, modernising power systems and moving away from fossil power. Against the backdrop of rapidly rising energy costs, this makes sense from a financial, as well as an environmental perspective. Our view is that environmental sustainability will boost our growth in various ways and positively impact our customers and the communities in which we operate. Environmental consideration is strongly linked to our purpose. One of our ongoing priorities is our carbon offset reafforestation programme which aims to plant five million trees by 2025. In partnership with local communities and Kenya Forest Services, we planted 372 000 trees in FY22, bringing the total number of trees planted to date to just over one million. The programme is transforming lives through income generation, skills and climate mitigation. REACHING OUT TO DROUGHT- STRICKEN COMMUNITIES As a purpose-led company, Safaricom cannot thrive when the communities around us are in anguish. Kenyans in 23 Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) counties are suffering the effects of a prolonged drought. Accordingly, we launched the Pamoja “I am optimistic that our strategic partnership with Visa will go a long way in opening the global e-commerce market to Kenya's significant unbanked and underbanked population.” “Our view is that environmental sustainability will boost our growth in various ways and positively impact our customers and the communities in which we operate.”