Safaricom Hints at Issuing Green Bond to Generate Funds

Kenya’s Telco service provider, Safaricom, has hinted on plans to issue Green Bond in the future as the company strives to ensure there is consistent flow of capital to support its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) projects.

Safaricom’s Director of Sustainable Business and Social Impact, Karen Basiye, revealed that the company is working on a framework to execute this plan.

“The green bond framework is there, just the same way we developed the sustainability loan framework…the frameworks are in place, when the business is ready they can take the green bond,” said Basiye.

Read Also: Safaricom Expands Global Services to Another East African Country

She confirms in her statement that the market as well as securities exchange are ready for green bond issuance, further expressing the company’s ambitions to be the first one ever to put the plan into practice.

“I think the market is ready, the securities exchange is ready, and it would be good if Safaricom was the first one to do this around here,” she added.

Earlier, the leading telecommunication company in the country received Ksh.15 billion sustainability-linked loan from four financial institutions, which has been channeled towards funding the greening of the telco’s network. This targets bolstering the company’s efforts to support its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) projects all over the country.

Addressing the matter, Economist Chachi Lutu, mentioned that corporate bond market in Kenya has been very dormant stating the adversities it can impose for Telco in attracting investors. Safaricom, however, hopes to breakthrough, taking advantage of the available impact-driven investors who will stem down to the use of proceeds through impactful projects that will enhance their ESG and sustainability agenda.