Inequalities have had many faces in our society and it weakens the socio-economic fabric of society. One of the greater known inequalities; income inequality has been linked to lower levels of education, poorer public health, higher rates of crime and lower GDP growth rates.
The impact of inequality is a really important issue for Safaricom because according to their latest Sustainable Report, it is clear that the success of a company is directly linked to the success of the society within which it operates. For there to be reduced inequality, we have to pay attention to the needs of disadvantaged and marginalized populations.
What does that look like for Safaricom?
•Reducing inequalities by enabling equal access to opportunities to everyone, especially to vulnerable groups, using Safaricom leadership, network,solutions and technology. They had a 0.4% increase in the percentage of their workforce that is differently-abled, bringing the percentage to 2.1%
• A diverse and inclusive workforce: we have achieved a 50:50 gender balance among their employees and 34% of senior management are women.
• Safaricom has a Women in Business initiative targets in place to increase the share of women-owned
businesses in our supply chain from the current 3.2% to 10% by the end of 2020.
• They have partnered with device suppliers to provide affordable smart devices such as the Neon Kicka(3G) (Kshs 3,500) and Neon Lite (4G) (Kshs 4,999), to enable our customers to access internet.
Currently 38% of the devices on our network are smart devices (3G and 4G capable).
As the late Bob Collymore said in the report, “Business has a vested interest in creating inclusive growth as well as an important role to play. If you help your consumer base gain access to more opportunity and success through becoming more educated, healthier and productive, it is obvious that your business will thrive.”
