Safaricom’s KSh 30 Billion Education Push: A Big Bet on Kenya’s Future

Kenya, 4 November 2025 - Safaricom’s KSh 30 billion bet is both bold and strategic: it links corporate investment to a national development need, focusing on skills that tech firms, and the wider economy, urgently require.

If implemented well, it can help close access gaps and provide thousands of young Kenyans with clearer pathways into the job market. If delivery is uneven, its promise may remain an ambitious pledge.

Safaricom’s M-Pesa Foundation has launched a sweeping KSh 30 billion education programme  “Citizens of the Future”, that aims to reshape learning across Kenya over the next five years.

The initiative promises 10,000 scholarships, upgrades to more than 600 schools and digital skilling for teachers, targeting basic, secondary and tertiary institutions in all 47 counties.

“This is about investing in people and in the future of our economy,” Safaricom Chief Executive Peter Ndegwa said at the launch, describing the programme as a consolidation of the telco’s education interventions under one five-year plan.

“Under the Citizens of the Future programme, we are consolidating our initiatives to make education more accessible, from early learning to technical and vocational training, with an initial investment of about KSh 30 billion.”

M-PESA Foundation Chairman Nicholas Ng'ang'a said the initiative aims to transform, not merely bolster, Kenya’s education system.

“We owe our pupils and teachers a richer experience. In a world propelled by digital progress, the traditional classroom is changing. We’re moving beyond simply supplementing education to reshaping it,” he said.

Safaricom Trustee Michael Joseph pointed out that the launch marks the company’s 25th anniversary, underlining its ongoing commitment to Kenya’s social progress.

“Our ambition is to establish model schools in every region — institutions that foster academic excellence while preparing future-ready pupils through digital integration,” he said.

Presiding over the launch at the Movenpick Hotel in Nairobi, Principal Secretary for Basic Education Prof Julius Bitok hailed the initiative as a vital force in reshaping Kenya’s education landscape.

“We are reshaping Kenya’s education landscape through targeted investments, innovation, and robust partnerships to ensure every pupil has access to quality, inclusive education,” said Prof Bitok.

He added that the programme aligns with the government’s current reforms — including the hiring of 100,000 new teachers, the expansion of classrooms and laboratories, and the rollout of digital learning via the distribution of over 1.2 million devices and the training of 90,000 teachers under the Digital Literacy Programme.

Education remains one of Kenya’s biggest public investments, amounting to Sh628.6 billion in the 2023/24 financial year, roughly 20.7 per cent of national revenue and 4.7 per cent of GDP.

Yet challenges like underfunding and insufficient teaching resources remain.

Over the years, Safaricom and the M-PESA Foundation have poured more than Sh29 billion into education, directly benefiting over four million pupils across the country.

Kenyans are now invited to nominate schools that truly deserve support by visiting the dedicated website at www.citizenofthefuture.org.

This straightforward online process allows members of the public to put forward educational institutions they believe would benefit most from the initiative.

Once nominations are received and reviewed, shortlisted institutions will be selected to receive a comprehensive package of assistance. This includes much-needed infrastructure upgrades to improve facilities, specialised teacher training programmes to enhance pedagogical skills, and valuable student scholarships to ease financial burdens and promote access to education.

“Together we are nurturing a generation of confident, skilled and responsible citizens ready to drive Kenya’s social and economic transformation,” Prof Bitok said, emphasising the collaborative effort to build a brighter future for the nation’s youth through targeted investment in education.

What’s happening

The new programme bundles Safaricom’s existing education efforts, scholarships, digital literacy projects, school infrastructure investments and TVET support, into a single, large-scale effort.

It will fund scholarships for school leavers and tertiary students, roll out ICT training for teachers, and upgrade school facilities to what Safaricom describes as “schools of the future” with better classrooms, sanitation, and digital access.

Safaricom’s move follows growing attention to education gaps exposed by the pandemic and persistent inequalities between urban and rural schools.

The company says the programme will prioritise underserved counties, technical and vocational education, and digital skills that match market demand.

Why this matters

Education is an economic lever. Kenya’s youth bulge and high rates of unemployment among young graduates mean that expanding quality education and job-ready skills can have outsized effects on livelihoods and productivity.

By investing in teacher training and digital skills, Safaricom is targeting the weak link many employers cite: lack of applied, workplace-ready skills.

For the private sector, the programme is a test case in how corporate social investment can be scaled.

While philanthropy and CSR are common, the scale of a KSh 30 billion commitment, spread over five years, suggests a strategic shift: private companies are beginning to underwrite public-good infrastructure that supports long-term workforce development.

That could ease pressure on state budgets while aligning skills supply with industry demand.

Education experts welcomed the scale but warned that delivery will be key.

“Large promises are important, but we need clear metrics: how many teachers trained, the quality of digital content, and how scholarships translate into employment,” said an education policy analyst speaking to local media.

What’s next

Execution will determine impact. Safaricom says the programme will roll out through its M-Pesa Foundation channels, partners in government and NGOs, and existing education platforms.

The company also flagged partnerships with Unicef and other development agencies in prior initiatives, a signal that it plans collaborative delivery models rather than solo implementation.

For citizens and communities, the questions to watch are straightforward: which counties and schools are prioritised, how scholarship recipients are selected, how digital skills are certified, and whether recurrent costs (teacher salaries, internet subscriptions) are sustainable once the five-year initial investment ends. Transparency on these points will shape whether the programme becomes a long-run enabler of opportunity, or a headline that fades.