Philanthropy is, by simple definition, the love of humanity and, for many companies, is embodied in the acts of charity often referred to as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
In the corporate scene today, CSR has gradually been replaced by combinations such as ‘shared value’ and ‘corporate giving’.
Going back in history, the word originated in Ancient Greece and then largely disappeared for more than a thousand years.
It was then replaced by Judeo-Christian notions of “charity” and “almsgiving”.
The historian Benjamin Kirkman Gray argued in his 1905 book A History of English Philanthropy that philanthropy is “probably incapable of strict definition”, and many modern academics and practitioners would agree that it is an “essentially contested term”.
In Kenya, philanthropy has come a long way over the years.
It was initially just one-off charity giving, where it was referred to as feel-good philanthropy and has evolved to more corporate philanthropy, where it has now become a key strategic focus.
At Safaricom, the establishment of the Safaricom Foundation in 2003, three years after the company was formally established, was deliberate, with philanthropy being part of the telco’s ambitions as it sought to transform lives.
In 2009 they established the M-PESA Foundation which celebrates 15 years this year.
Both foundations focus on health, education, and agribusiness.
In this podcast, get to learn more about how philanthropy has evolved over the years from Henry Kilonzo, Senior Manager, Foundations Programmes at Safaricom.
