Safaricom, the leading communications company in Kenya with the widest and strongest coverage, exists to fulfill a purpose.
“At Safaricom, we like to speak about the 3 P’s that support our strategy: Purpose, People and Profit – that when you put purpose and people first, then profit always follows.
It is a mindset that has led us to achieve remarkable results each year, reminding us that our business exists to transform lives, from the communities we serve to the people we serve,” says Bob Collymore, CEO.
The telco company has nurtured partnerships to provide life-changing solutions in the health, education and energy sectors through products like M-tiba, Eneza and M-kopa.
Safaricom, integrating their growth strategy to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) “Represents our commitment to mobilising global efforts towards realising shared prosperity for all, and present significant opportunities for our business to make a greater contribution to equal social-economic growth,” says Collymore.
All are founded on three pillars: Putting the customer first, delivering relevant products and optimizing operational excellence.
However, the telco is against efforts from regulators and policymakers punishing their success. Lawmakers are currently studying Analysys Mason Report on Telecommunication Competition Market Study that found Safaricom to be a dominant player in mobile money and mobile communications.
“Because of this growth, fuelled by a consistent and well-loved brand, a deliberate focus on investment in our network and people,…we are now considered a Dominant Operator that should be singled out for punishment for simply being successful,” said Collymore when he appeared before Parliament ICT Committee on Monday as he resumed work after a nine-month absence for medical treatment.
“Let’s take the instance of home fibre, an area we have just ventured into, despite the many players in the sub-sector. by employing our expertise…in two years time, we shall be extremely successful and someone will say that there is a new market in which Safaricom is already dominant, yet we can all start now and create this sub-subsector.”
“Our position is that the market should be allowed the freedom to regulate itself, and infrastructure sharing agreements negotiated between operators on commercial terms as is happening already,” says Nicholas Nganga, Safaricom Chair in his abridged statement for the Year Ended March 31, 2018.
“Introduction of price controls not only runs the risk of players abandoning investment in their own networks as they wait to be hosted, they will also eventually hurt customers and the country’s standing as a leader in innovation,” he adds.
Telkom Kenya and Airtel Kenya have insisted that Safaricom needs to be declared dominant.
In a past interview with
