Safaricom 2023 Sustainable Business Report

85 OUR BUSINESS KPI SUMMARY OUR MATERIAL TOPICS PATHWAY TO A PURPOSE-LED TECHNOLOGY COMPANY OUR STAKEHOLDERS An ongoing key goal is to ensure that women-owned businesses account for 10% of procurement spend. While we did not achieve this goal, it is pleasing to note that spend with WIB increased to 5.81% of our total procurement spend. This is attributable to contracts awarded to WIB in the technology networks category – an area of significant spend. Besides women, the other categories in our Special Interest Group (SIG) are youth and PwDs. To increase spend with these categories, we have embarked on a process to accelerate the number of prequalified suppliers and make them procurement ready. We expect to realise the benefits in the next financial year. WIB PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FY20 FY21 FY22 FY23 No. of women-owned businesses 205 227 236 237 No. of women suppliers as a percentage of supplier base 10.2% 9.7% 8.59% 8.46% No. of unique WIB who have participated in tenders 23.4% 14.1% 16.10% 8.05% Procurement spend (KSh billion) 1.77 1.7 2.38 5.92 Procurement spend for WIB vs gross procurement value 2.3 % 2.3% 3.07% 5.81% WORKING TOGETHER Our strong relationship with our suppliers is based on transparent, open engagement. This is highlighted by the piloting and implementation of our suppler self-assessment survey which covers areas like documentation, health and safety policy, occupational health and safety administration, vehicle roadworthiness and tracking units as well as compliance with the Data Protection Act, which prohibits transfer of personal data to third parties unless the data subject has given prior consent. By the end of FY23, we had conducted 1860 evaluations. The supplier self evaluation enables our suppliers to rate themselves in addition to being rated by the contract owners. We carry out feedback sessions every quarter or biannually to address issues raised, together with those raised based on supplier feedback. To ensure our new suppliers understand what is expected of them in terms of contracts, policies and procedures, we hold a supplier induction programme every quarter, inducting 25 new suppliers in FY23. Communication channels include an i-supplier portal where tender feedback is available in real time. Feedback indicates that suppliers are finding the i-sourcing platform difficult to use and there are plans in place to enhance it and train the suppliers.. We also operate a supplier help desk which operates every day of the week to facilitate speedy resolution of issues. Given that not all suppliers are aware of this, we will focus on raising awareness about this service. Under Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs), we continued to collaborate with financial institutions including Absa Bank Kenya (Absa), Citibank Kenya, Equity Bank and Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB). We are currently in the process of completing MoUs with two further banks. The purpose of these is to facilitate financial access to all our suppliers including Special Interest Groups (SIGs) comprising women, youth and PwDs by providing them with favourable loans based on purchase orders. Our supplier financing (not confined to SIGs) grew by KSh 6.1 billion in the year. This could be one of the reasons why the annual Supplier Forum indicated growing satisfaction amongst our partners within IT, sales and marketing, together with value-added services, whereby overall satisfaction with Safaricom as a partner increased by one percentage point. We also performed strongly on ethics and risk management and sustainability, as well as products and services. Clear communication, being supportive and providing regular feedback on performance are areas where we are performing well. The survey highlighted that more effort should be put into explaining how the ethics hotline works. In addition to the above, each year, we use a Net Promoter Score (NPS), administered by an independent third party, to track supplier levels of confidence in, and satisfaction with, Safaricom. This stood at 67%, a one percentage point decline from last year. Our positive relationship was also reflected in the overall supplier satisfaction index which indicated a score of 92% which is 1% growth compared to last year. . ENSURING HIGH ETHICAL AND OPERATIONAL STANDARDS We insist that all suppliers sign up to our Supplier Code of Conduct which is aligned with the Code of Ethics for Business in Kenya. The percentage of signed-up suppliers increased from 71% in FY22 to 81% for FY23. This 10% increase is attributable to active engagement with vendors explaining why they need to sign as well as increased focus on this topic at induction sessions. To realise our target of 100% signed-up suppliers, we plan to follow up with non-responsive suppliers and request that they organise an engagement with the local chapter of the UNGC to understand more fully the implications of signing up to the Code. Of the 19% flagged as having not signed up to the Code, 5% no longer have active engagements with Safaricom. In line with our commitment to SDG8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, as well as to SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, we conducted desk top audits on certain suppliers to ensure