Safaricom says its business generated about Sh1.25 trillion in value for Kenyan society in the year to March 2026, a 10 per cent increase on the previous year, according to its latest sustainability report released in Nairobi on Tuesday.

The Sustainable Business Report 2026, the company's 15th, puts the precise figure at Sh1.247 trillion, of which Sh654 billion was direct economic impact from its own business activities, The Standard and Newsline reported. The rest is drawn from its digital and financial services, infrastructure investment, employment and community spending.

Key numbers from the report

  • M-Pesa's estimated social value: Sh478.1 billion
  • Jobs sustained across agents, dealers, suppliers and partners: more than 1.4 million, including 70,000 new ones
  • Free M-Pesa transactions: 57.8 per cent of volumes
  • Lives reached through Safaricom and M-Pesa Foundation programmes: 4.4 million
  • Network sites running on solar: more than 2,000, up from 1,432
  • Trees planted in the year: over 600,000, taking the total to three million

'Not philanthropy'

Chief executive Peter Ndegwa, who launched the report alongside Treasury Principal Secretary Festus Ng'eno, said the company's decisions are guided by the impact they create.

"For us, sustainability is not philanthropy; it is not a report we produce once a year," Ndegwa said. He added that the company's impact "is measured not only by what we earn, but by the value we create for society."

The report also discloses that 118 employees were dismissed in fraud-related cases during the year, a crackdown the firm has linked to the recovery of inflated agent commissions.

Emissions and inclusion gaps

Not all the indicators moved in the right direction. Scope 1 and 2 emissions from Safaricom's Kenyan operations rose by up to 9.1 per cent, while those of Safaricom Ethiopia fell 31 per cent, leaving group emissions about 1 per cent higher. The company is targeting net zero by 2050.

Persons with disabilities made up 4 per cent of the workforce, up from 3.6 per cent, but still short of its 5 per cent target.

For the first time, Safaricom used a double materiality assessment, which looks both at the company's effect on society and the environment and at how sustainability risks affect its own long-term value. It says it aims to fully comply with international IFRS sustainability disclosure standards by the 2028 financial year.

An independent Alexforbes Paragon assessment gave the company an overall B+ across nine UN Sustainable Development Goals, with A+ scores on industry and infrastructure, reduced inequalities and partnerships.

Photos: Fiona Graham via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0); Wilberforce Okwiri / The Standard. Logo: Safaricom. Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.