Safaricom Foundation will focus on three strategic areas to improve the quality of life in the communities in line with its 2023–2026 strategic plan.
The 2023–2026 strategy is themed “Partnering to Enhance Equity” and focuses on three strategic areas: education, Health, and economic empowerment.
The Foundation states, “By partnering to enhance equity in health, education, and economic empowerment, we aim to create a more inclusive and equitable future for all.”
“These pillars will enable the Foundation to deepen its engagement with communities and are aligned to Safaricom Plc’s purpose of transforming lives and its total societal impact.”
In the 2023–2026 strategy, the Foundation will integrate ICT, sustainable Philanthropy, and humanitarian response as major execution components to deliver long-lasting, impactful projects and philanthropic investments to address communities’ urgent needs and immediate concerns.
The strategy will see the Foundation deepen its community engagement through partnerships aligned with Safaricom’s purpose of transforming lives. For the first time, the Foundation will also leverage funding from partners to create shared value for longer-term projects.
“Our new strategy will rely a lot on partnerships, technology, and community engagement by bringing all stakeholders in our programmes on board. That is why we have incorporated sustainable Philanthropy as a key delivery component so that through such gainful partnerships, communities can continue thriving long after we have implemented our initiatives,” said Joseph Ogutu, Chairman Safaricom Foundation.
Mr Ogutu disclosed that by prioritizing the three areas, they have invested in more than 4,000 community projects, transforming the lives of at least 8 million people through more than Ksh 3 billion in investments.
Since its inception in 2003, the Foundation has contributed to the improvement of the Health and well-being of Kenyans through investments in Health, education, economic empowerment, water, environmental conservation, disaster relief, and arts and culture projects.
“First, we learned that aligning our business with the Sustainable Development Goals has been a game changer. The Sustainable Development Goals provide a platform to anchor social responsibility and guide our activities.
Secondly, partnerships are the linchpin of every philanthropic activity, and as we move into a new strategy, collaboration remains a focal point for us.
Lastly, another invaluable lesson is the fulfilment of balancing business & community interests so that, as a business, you gain the trust and loyalty of communities while meeting them at their point of need.”
Education pillar
Under its Education pillar, the Foundation seeks to integrate digital skills to strengthen teacher and learner competencies and improve education outcomes.
The Foundation will also increase access to TVET training for young people by establishing TVET centres of excellence and providing scholarships, apprenticeships, and tooling of graduates in readiness for the job market.
Health pillar
Under Health, the Foundation has incorporated adolescent Health due to increased demand for quality reproductive services.
This pillar will also improve its Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health Initiative (RMNCAH) to strengthen the capacity of National, County and Community Health Systems.
It will also integrate screening for non-communicable diseases to enable early detection, treatment, and management. Technology will play a role in mapping the number of pregnant women in high-burden counties and be used in awareness creation in health interventions.
Economic empowerment pillar
The Economic empowerment pillar will have entrepreneurship programmes, job creation and innovative, affordable financing to harness the potential of the youth.
This will be achieved through Agribusiness, Ecoprenuership and Enterprise Development. Using technology, the Foundation will boost learning in good agricultural practices and agribusiness management and support innovations geared towards providing ICT solutions to agri-business management for startups.
“In this 2023 to 2026 Safaricom Foundation strategy, we will heavily leverage technology across the three pillars to improve efficiency and scale impact,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO Safaricom.
“By 2026, we hope that Safaricom Foundation will have proven that it is possible to impact the community through technological interventions.”
