Safaricom injects Sh315b into economy, KPMG report shows

Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore

Safaricom generated Sh315 billion in revenues during 2014/15 financial year. Global consultancy firm KPMG in a new report that quantifies the value of the mobile service provider said the amount accounted for 6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product.

“The True Value report aims to discover an organisation’s value to both the economy and society beyond traditional financial reporting. It allows companies to identify how business leaders can better understand the impact their organizations have on an economy,” said Neil Morris, Director, KPMG.

The report finds that Safaricom provided societal value for Kenya at least nine times greater than their financial profit in the financial year 2015. Covering Safaricom’s True Value during the 2014/5 financial year, the report says that Safaricom’s operations sustained about 682,000 jobs in Kenya during the year, representing about 4 per cent of the total economically active labour force in Kenya.

Safaricom continues to be a major contributor to the revenues of the Government, remitting Sh54.8 billion in the last financial year. Corporate taxes and excise duties account for 70 per cent of the total revenues submitted to the republic.

M-Pesa created an estimated value of Sh133.8 billion in the 2014/15 financial year, which was four times the total amount of transaction fees earned by Safaricom in the same period.

“This tells us that there is a bigger story that has driven the Safaricom narrative over the last 15 years. This value is directly attributable to our deep connection to this market, and our continued desire to create solutions for the mobile phones that can transform the lives of Kenyans,”Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore, said.

Safaricom commissioned KPMG to assess the broader economic contribution that its operations have had in Kenya– including its economy, job creation, tax revenue and poverty alleviation for the 2014/15 financial year.