As M-Pesa celebrates 18 years, its baby M-Pesa Foundation marks 15 years of transforming lives and creating lasting impact throughout the country. M-Pesa Foundation came to be in 2010 to take some weight off Safaricom Foundation and to tackle some of the company’s large-scale and long-term projects in health, education, economic empowerment, and sustainability. By now, it has impacted people to the tune of 8 million directly and 35 billion indirectly with an investment of Ksh.11 billion.
Last week, as part of M-Pesa Foundation’s celebrations, my colleagues and I interviewed Karen Basiye, who provided a clear and insightful overview of the foundation’s mandate, impact, and future vision. Karen, Safaricom’s Director of Sustainable Business and Social Impact, highlighted key achievements, ongoing projects, and strategic goals aimed at driving lasting change in communities.
Here are some of the insights we gathered from the interview.
Education
Education is one of M-Pesa Foundation’s key investment pillars, serving as a powerful equalizer with far-reaching, long-term results. Notable initiatives include building ICT-ready schools in 35 counties, prioritizing areas where children study under trees or in severely dilapidated infrastructure. The most impactful, however, is the M-Pesa Foundation Academy, which provides underprivileged students with a full education, including higher learning opportunities within and outside the country.
I have had the honor to visit M-Pesa Foundation Academy severally and work on some impact stories, and here are a few.
Njoroge Macharia, an award-winning student and music conductor who overcame physical challenges since childhood to pursue his dreams. He’s a beneficiary of M-Pesa Academy where he excelled both academically and musically and earned himself at the University of Nottingham. Njoroge is committed to giving back by transforming Kenya’s music education system. Read his inspiring story here.
Victor Kiplagat who was orphaned at a young age and overcame quite a bit of adversity but still managed to push through primary school. He was picked to join M-Pesa Academy, and despite a degenerative eye ailment, he scored an impressive A- in KCSE. By the last time we visited him at the academy, he had since joined Uongozi Center, an extension of the M-Pesa Foundation Academy that opened its doors in January 2020 with a mission to shape independent thinkers and transformational leaders. Victor’s plan is to pursue medicine so he can help people back in his community. Here is his story.
M-Pesa Foundation also runs a ‘Keeping Girls in School’ initiative that has empowered over 800,000 girls in Class 8 and Form 4 by providing free sanitary towels so they can concentrate on their studies. The program was started in response to a 13-year-old girl who took her own life after being shamed for lacking pads.
Health
M-Pesa Foundation is very keen on health as one of its community empowerment pillars, with initiatives like medical camps to bring free healthcare closer to underserved people, fistula programs to offer free consultation and corrective surgeries, and telemedicine for remote consultations with expert doctors.
The foundation’s flagship projects are in maternal and child health and adolescent health which run under the Uzazi Salama as an implementing partner. This has massive impact in over 30 counties in the country where the Foundation has built maternal units and equipped them with advanced neonatal care facilities, some better than top private hospitals.
For instance, the foundation took over maternal health infrastructure in Samburu County, upgrading the entire ecosystem to support mothers and newborns. In Lamu County, it provided ambulance boats to improve transport for mothers, most of who need to cross the Indian Ocean to reach Lamu Hospital.
I will do a comprehensive article on M-Pesa Foundation’s maternal health initiatives but in the meantime, catch up with some of my most touching stories around healthcare.
Prisca Ariri – a then 75-year-old from Nyamira who had lived with Fistula for 50 years.
Virginia Wanjiku – a then 6-year-old who was battling fistula due to a misfitted catheter and prolonged stay in ICU.
Rehabilitation of Gatunguru Health Center in Murang’a.
Economic Empowerment
For economic empowerment, Karen used the example of Nyalani Dam in Kinango Kwale, a project that has empowered the lives of over 400 farmers and transformed the lives of 90,000 people by providing a reliable fresh water source.
Kwale County is officially classified as an arid semi-arid and agricultural activities are severely curtailed. The area experiences drought to the point of conflicts flaring up as communities fight for limited resources and that is what makes the provision of water by M-Pesa Foundation so impactful. Here is my story on Nyalani, which is now an economic lifeline with farmers selling produce to areas as far as Diani.
Environmental Conservation
M-Pesa Foundation has many conservation projects under its belt, some of the notable ones being rehabilitation and protection of Nairobi National Park, fencing of Kakamega Forest, protecting antelopes in Ruma National Park, and working with the community to safeguard elephants at Reteti Sanctuary. The foundation has also contributed to restoring the Mau ecosystem by fencing critical areas.
Disaster Response
M-Pesa Foundation plays a key role in disaster response, providing aid in times of crisis. Whether through emergency healthcare, infrastructure rebuilding, or relief efforts, the foundation has consistently stepped in to support affected communities.
In July last year, for instance, the foundation, alongside Safaricom Foundation, donated Ksh.10 Million to Kenyatta Hospital’s Disaster Response Center to support the hospital during the protests. An additional Ksh.5 million went to support the people who sustained injuries.
Another instance is in July last year when the foundation partnered with the Red Cross to aid 3,000 families who were affected by floods in Nairobi, Tana River, and Kisumu counties. The Foundation had set aside Ksh. 30 million towards its flood response efforts in the three counties.
There is so much to M-Pesa Foundation impact that it will take many more stories to capture even a fraction, but we will tell as many of them as we can.
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