Safaricom puts digital trust at centre of sustainability agenda
Safaricom is broadening its sustainability agenda to treat cybersecurity, responsible artificial intelligence and climate resilience as questions of business survival, alongside its contribution to Kenya’s economy.
Launching the company’s 2026 Sustainable Business Report, Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa said protecting customers’ money and data was increasingly inseparable from running a sustainable business.
“These numbers underline why digital trust is not an IT issue. It’s a leadership issue, a customer issue, and increasingly a sustainability issue,” he said.
Ndegwa said Safaricom detected and monitored 1.25 billion intrusion attempts during the financial year and investigated more than 130,000 security events.
The emphasis reflects the report’s adoption of double materiality: examining both how Safaricom affects society and the environment, and how external pressures affect its own resilience.
That approach connects threats to digital platforms with physical risks to infrastructure, including floods, energy insecurity and extreme weather.
Speaking at the launch, Dr Garry Conille, UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya, urged businesses to identify infrastructure exposed to flooding and strengthen the data underpinning their climate disclosures.
“The capital Kenya needs for its green transition will flow to companies and to countries whose numbers can be trusted,” he said.
He called for greater use of telecommunications infrastructure in early warning systems, water monitoring and tracking forest health, highlighting the connection between digital investment and climate adaptation.
Dr Festus Ng’eno, Principal Secretary for Environment and Climate Change, described Safaricom as a frontline ally in Kenya’s drive to grow 15 billion trees by 2032 and achieve more than 30 percent tree cover. He also highlighted the company’s Net Zero 2050 roadmap and expansion of solar-powered sites as a practical blueprint for reducing reliance on diesel generators.
Safaricom reported Sh1.247 trillion in value created for Kenyan society, up 10 percent. However, its Kenyan operational emissions rose 9.1 percent, despite expanding solar power across its network.
Ndegwa acknowledged the emissions increase and one work-related fatality as areas requiring improvement.
The challenge now is to demonstrate that wider connectivity and financial inclusion can advance alongside absolute emissions reductions and safer operations.
“Sustainability cannot sit alongside business. It has to be how we do business,” Ndegwa said.
Delivering that promise will require measurable progress across both fronts.
