Biashara Opportunities

Safaricom is a leading integrated communication services provider in Kenya and has a steadily growing subscriber base of subscribers and enterprise clients. The company is continuously expanding the network and upgrading existing capacities to meet the changing needs of its customers.

To meet this objective Safaricom continuously seeks to partner with competent suppliers and service providers for supply of various goods and services. In line with its commitment to provide high availability of services to both internal and external customers, the company is in the process of engaging in partnerships with organizations to implement Least Cost Routing Solution coupled with Origin based handling.

Safaricom is the leading integrated communication services provider in Kenya and has a steadily growing subscriber base of mobile and enterprise clients. The company is continuously expanding and upgrading its systems and processes to meet the changing needs of its customers. To meet this objective Safaricom continuously seeks to partner with competent suppliers and service providers for supply of various goods and services. To this end, Safaricom intends to engage services of a reputable supplier for the provision of End-of-Life Equipment Disposal Management Services. Safaricom is therefore soliciting for Expressions of Interest (EOI) from interested qualified suppliers with local presence or willing to set-up locally

vInvest in Africa (IIA) is a Pan-African private sector-led initiative that empowers enterprises to create sustainable jobs by improving their access to skills, market, and finance.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) typically struggle to pursue sustainable practices as their willingness and capability is deterred by limitation in size, skill and knowledge. Women entrepreneurs, in addition, face the additional challenges brought about by gender inequality, damaging gender stereotypes and sexist attitudes, with young women being disproportionately disadvantaged. 

Invest in Africa, in partnership with World University Service of Canada (WUSC), is implementing a project on Spearheading Sustainability of Young Women SMEs in Kenya. The initiative aims to equip young women entrepreneurs with the skills and support they require to effectively adopt Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) sustainability practices in their enterprises. 

KEY PROJECT OBJECTIVES 

• To create a pool of motivated young women SMEs adopting ESG sustainability practices: (1) strengthening governance systems; (2) mainstreaming gender equality and socially inclusive practices; (3) adopting environmentally sustainable practices.  

• To empower young women SMEs to be well positioned to access sustainability funding, including climate change financing. 

• To enable young women SMEs to widen their support network of like-minded entrepreneurs, other ecosystem actors, and sector sustainability experts. 

KEY PROJECT DELIVERABLES 

1. 25 young women SMEs develop and implement ESG sustainability policies and plans. 

1. 25 project beneficiaries undergo investor readiness empowerment. 

1. 25 SME participants develop financing pitch decks in readiness of engaging potential financing institutions. 

1. ESG Sustainability Development Toolkit launched on IIA’s Biashara.Now Platform. 

EXPECTED OUTCOMES 

• Reduced SME impact on the environment. 

• Enhanced SMEs’ responsibility to employees and the communities in which they operate.  

• Strengthened governance of youth women-owned enterprises.  

• The targeted SMEs will widen their network with other SMEs and sustainability sector experts. 

• Increased SME revenue from the implementation of ESG best practices sustainability advantage.  

• The project beneficiaries will meet the ESG sustainability requirements of large corporates for potential business linkage. 

• The project beneficiaries will be well positioned to access financing for ESG sustainability initiatives. 

• Data tracking and impact reporting of a strong pool of 25 young women SMEs championing ESG sustainability, for learning and scalability. 

PROJECT COMPONENTS 

The project covers five strands of complimentary activities to achieve the overall project goal:  

• Strand 1: Sustainability Awareness – Increase SMEs’ knowledge of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) sustainability and build the business case for implementation within their enterprises.  

• Strand 2: Sustainability Gap Assessment – Support the SMEs to conduct a baseline assessment to diagnose and identify sustainability gaps and opportunities of their firms.  

• Strand 3: Coaching & Mentorship – With the support of certified coaches, the SMEs will draft their sustainability (ESG) policies and action plans, and improve their management systems to strengthen Environmental, Social, and Governance performance.  

• Strand 4: Technical Support Services – SMEs will receive the technical support they require to implement their sustainability policies and action plans, in line with their identified gaps and opportunities. 

• Strand 5: Showcasing Success – SME impact storytelling and spotlight will showcase the impact of sustainability adoption by the project beneficiaries. 

Safaricom PLC (the company) is the leading technology company & integrated communication services provider in Kenya and has a steadily growing subscriber base. Safaricom is continuously expanding and upgrading its systems and processes to meet the changing needs of its customers. In line with this objective, Safaricom partners with various suppliers (local and international) for supply of goods and provision of services. Our efforts are geared towards positively impacting and transforming the lives of those in the communities around us and thus we strive to change the present to improve the future. Safaricom remains focused on offering the best customer experience with products and services that differentiate us from competition and this has led to the expansion of our services to the regions is aimed at engaging our customers from the grassroots. In 2019 we made a commitment to our customers and partners to being Simple in how we reach out to you, Transparent in how we deliver to you and Honest in what we say to you, every day, everywhere, doing what we do FOR YOU. And it is this commitment that we deliberately and continuously seek to partner with competent suppliers and providers to partner with in the supply of various goods and services across the company.