Safaricom Contribution to Kenyan Economy Shy of Ksh1trn

In the fiscal year that ended in March 2023, Safaricom increased its contribution to the Kenyan economy by 25%, getting closer to the Sh1 trillion mark while also maintaining over one million jobs.

According to the company’s most recent annual sustainability report, its economic contribution increased from Sh727.2 billion to Sh909.5 billion, an increase of Sh182.3 billion.

According to Safaricom, its economic activities supported approximately 1.16 million direct and indirect jobs, increasing its influence in the economy at a time when there are a large number of young people leaving schools and institutions and there aren’t enough new job possibilities to meet demand.

At the end of March, the telecom was supporting 236 674 direct jobs, with the remaining jobs coming from indirect sources including suppliers and customers of the company’s different goods.

“Our expenditure creates additional employment and benefits our suppliers’ employees. A proportion of the additional income generated in this way is spent on the consumption of goods and services,” says Safaricom.

“Through linkages and multiplier effects, this positively impacts the broader economy by stimulating additional demand for the products and services produced within the economy.”

With a contribution to the economy of Sh909.5 billion, Safaricom outperformed its net profit of Sh62.3 billion by 14.6 times. Additionally, it equates to 5.1% of Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP).

According to Safaricom, the Sh311 billion in annual revenue generated by its business contributes an estimated Sh660.9 billion to the GDP.

The social value from M-Pesa surged by 17.7% to Sh325 billion, while the economic value generated through operations increased by 3.4 percent to Sh542 billion. The telecom attributes these increases to an increase in customers and the average number and value of transactions performed per client.

Thousands of agents work for M-Pesa alone, which is a major player in the country’s payments system thanks to its widespread use by retailers.

The platform is primarily responsible for all other direct jobs at Safaricom, including the 270,360 M-Pesa agents employed around the nation.

Safaricom also maintains a network of 720 suppliers in addition to 432 dealers that sell data, equipment, and airtime on the telco’s behalf.