#7
THE SAFARICOM FOUNDATION
Beyond the Network Bars: How the Safaricom Foundation Transforms Corporate Giving in Kenya
Safaricom is part of daily life for most Kenyans. You see its green logo on local shops, notice the network bars on your phone, or hear the familiar sound of an M-Pesa transaction. Yet, beyond the business, another institution has quietly become a part of Kenyan communities for over twenty years: the Safaricom Foundation.
The Safaricom Foundation started in 2003 as the company’s way to give back. Now, more than twenty years later, it is the largest corporate foundation in East Africa. It works in all 47 counties, investing billions of shillings in local programs and changing how companies approach giving.
Most companies approach corporate social responsibility by writing a cheque, taking a few photos, and moving on. The Safaricom Foundation chose a different path. Instead of quick publicity stunts, it built long-term relationships with communities, showing that a company’s success is tied to the well-being of the people it serves.
The foundation doesn’t try to solve every problem at once. Instead, it focuses on three main areas where it can make the biggest difference: health, education, and economic empowerment.
Bringing healthcare closer to the people
In many parts of Kenya, getting proper medical care still depends on where you live. If you are in a remote or underserved area, seeing a specialist might mean traveling for days. The Safaricom Foundation believes that everyone should have access to good healthcare, no matter where they are.
Maternal and newborn health are major priorities. Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are still common in rural and poor areas. To help, the foundation builds and improves maternal shelters, newborn units, and local clinics. These efforts have saved thousands of lives by giving mothers a safe and well-equipped place to give birth.
Since a tech company backs the foundation, it also uses digital tools. One standout project is Daktari Smart, a telemedicine program for children and young people under age 21. In places without local paediatricians, the foundation sets up remote clinics where healthcare workers use video and digital tools to connect patients with specialists in cities. This way, a child in a remote village can get the right diagnosis and treatment plan without their family needing to pay for long, expensive trips.
Rebuilding the classroom
People often call education the great equalizer, but a child can’t learn well in a crumbling classroom or without basic books. The Safaricom Foundation’s Citizens of the Future program sees education as a puzzle with many parts: good buildings, quality teaching, and financial support.
First, there’s the physical environment. The foundation has helped restore and upgrade more than 600 schools in Kenya. This means tearing down unsafe buildings and replacing them with strong classrooms, proper science labs, clean toilets, and safe water systems.
Next is the human side. The foundation works directly with teachers through programs like Power Teachers and Digitise Learning. It gives them digital teaching tools and training, so rural schools can keep up as digital skills become more important. This support also reaches Technical and Vocational Education and Training centres, where older students learn practical skills for today’s jobs.
Finally, the foundation removes financial barriers. Through scholarships and mentorships, it has helped over 10,000 disadvantaged students stay in school. It offers not just tuition but also career guidance to help them move from graduation into work.
Transitioning from Handouts to Livelihood
The foundation’s third focus is economic empowerment, which addresses the urgent problem of youth unemployment in Kenya. The aim is simple: instead of giving handouts, help people become self-reliant.
Instead of offering short-term cash help, the foundation invests in training and supporting small businesses. It funds programs that teach young people useful skills like coding, software development, modern farming, and renewable energy repair.
After students finish their training, they are not left on their own to find work. The foundation often gives them business starter kits, seed funding, and expert advice to help them start their own small businesses. By turning job seekers into job creators, the foundation helps local economies grow.
Responding to community requests through Ndoto Zetu and Pamoja Initiatives
One thing that sets the Safaricom Foundation apart is that it doesn’t let executives in offices decide what villages in Mandera or Kwale need. Instead, it lets local communities make those decisions.
This approach is clear in the Ndoto Zetu (‘ Our Dreams’) programme. Each year, the foundation asks everyday Kenyans to send in simple proposals for how a small investment could help their community. It’s a truly democratic process. A group might ask for sewing machines to start a tailoring business, a clinic might need an infant incubator, or a school could request water tanks. The foundation reviews these requests and funds hundreds of small, local projects every year. It shows that small efforts can be just as powerful as big infrastructure projects.
At the same time, the foundation involves Safaricom employees through the Pamoja Initiative. This program lets employees suggest community projects they care about. If approved, the foundation funds the project, and employees give their time and skills to make it happen. This builds a stronger company culture and gives employees a real connection to the company’s social mission.
As Safaricom grows from a telecom company into a bigger tech provider, the foundation is changing too. Its future work will use data to guide decisions, relying on mobile networks, tools like M-Pesa, and digital maps to find out where help is needed most. This could mean sending quick aid during a climate emergency or tracking how well an education program is working over time.
In the end, numbers and reports can’t fully show the real impact of the Safaricom Foundation. Its true value is seen in daily life: a mother giving birth safely in a bright clinic, a student learning to code in a new classroom, or a young entrepreneur earning a steady income. By treating community development as a shared journey, not just a business duty, the foundation sets a new standard for real corporate responsibility.
