Safaricom detected and monitored about 1.25 billion intrusion attempts in its 2026 financial year (FY26), according to the Kenyan telco’s 2026 Sustainable Business Report, which was launched in Nairobi today.
The operator also investigated more than 130,000 security events during the period. Peter Ndegwa, CEO of Safaricom, said the figures show that protecting customers online has become a boardroom priority.
“Those numbers underline why digital trust is not an IT issue. It is a leadership issue, a customer issue and increasingly a sustainability issue,” Ndegwa said.
Privacy trust scores recovered to 70% for M-PESA and 61% for Safaricom during the year, the report said.
Ndegwa said the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), data and digital platforms has raised the stakes for customer confidence.
“As technology becomes more powerful, trust becomes more valuable. Our customers must trust us with their data. They must trust our platforms with their money. They must trust that the technology we introduce will work for them, not against them,” he said.
He added that the company’s goal is not simply to deploy more technology but “to use technology responsibly, securely and inclusively, and increasingly to use AI for good”. He named data protection, secure transactions and AI governance as the main priorities.
The report is Safaricom’s first under a double materiality framework, which measures both the operator’s impact on society and the environment and how sustainability risks affect the long-term resilience of its business.
The report sorts more than 40 material topics into five pillars: building trust in the digital economy, connecting people and communities, empowering its people, protecting the planet and leading responsibly. The company has also adopted a globally recognised impact valuation methodology and aligned more closely with the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.
Safaricom began sustainability reporting in 2012, when it joined the United Nations Global Compact.
“Sustainability cannot sit alongside the business; it has to be how we do business,” Ndegwa said.
According to the report, Safaricom activities generated more than KES1.24 trillion (US 9.6 billion) in value for Kenyan society in FY26, up to 10% on the previous year. Of this, KES 654 billion(US 5.1 billion) came directly from its business activities.
The company’s ecosystem supported more than 1.4 million jobs, including 70,000 created during the year.
Safaricom scored B+ across its nine priority UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Alexforbes Paragon SDG Impact Assessment. It scored A+ on SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure), SDG 10 (reduced inequalities) and SDG 17 (partnerships for the goals).
Its foundations reached more than 4.4 million people, and it planted more than 600,000 trees during the year, bringing its total to over three million.
The report also discloses setbacks. Safaricom’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions rose during the year, and the company recorded one work-related fatality despite a safety reset programme. It is targeting net-zero emissions by 2050.
“These are areas where we must do better, and where we remain committed to taking action and improving our performance,” Ndegwa said.
Looking ahead to 2030, he said Safaricom wants to build “a business where growth and impact reinforce one another, where technology expands opportunity rather than inequality, and where innovation and AI accelerate human potential while earning people’s trust.”
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By Nixon Kanali
Tech journalist based in Nairobi. I track and report on tech and African startups. Founder and Editor of TechTrends Media. Nixon is also the East African tech editor for Africa Business Communities. Send tips to kanali@techtrendsmedia.co.ke.