Innovative Partnerships are Critical Support for Social Stability

The private sector should go beyond profit-making, paying taxes and creating direct and indirect employment by also contributing to the social stability necessary for national development.

A brand that gives back to society is not only noble but one set to last for generations. It is only through creating others that one lives. It is also not how fast one reaches the finishing line but how many people one helps to reach the finishing line.

According to Safaricom, Kenya needs innovative partnerships that will see the development of social stability. It is not always about making profits or paying taxes but being in touch with those who ensure your real brand’s existence.

“With the implementation of the Big Four Agenda now at the top of everyone’s mind, there is a huge opportunity for partnerships between us in the private sector and both levels of government to help accomplish the noble objective of improving people’s lives,” said Joseph Ogutu, Chief Special Projects Officer, Safaricom.

He was addressing the 6,000 delegates gathered for the Sixth Annual Devolution Conference at Kirinyaga University in Kirinyaga County. With the Devolution Conference underway, most Kenyans are still struggling to make ends meet due to poverty and hard economic times.

“We cannot be successful when the very people we expect to consume our products and services are struggling to put food on the table and are unable to access affordable healthcare,” said Ogutu.

Safaricom’s M-TIBA is one of the private-sector driven initiatives working to enable citizens to save for their healthcare and in turn reduce the stress they suffer whenever they get unwell or need to undergo significant medical procedures.

M-TIBA, a product developed by the PharmAccess Foundation with backing from the M-PESA Foundation, was deployed in Kisumu, Machakos, and Nyeri in the pilot phase launched last year.

“In the first three months, M-TIBA was used to register 2.6 million residents of the three counties on to the platform. This means that there are now an additional 2.6 million people who are in a position to set aside a small amount of money regularly to cater for their healthcare.”