Bob Collymore, the Chief Executive Officer, Safaricom has urged the business community to join the fight against corruption, for a healthy business environment and growing economy.
He made these remarks during the official launch the 3rd Biennial Africa Academy of Management Conference held at Strathmore Business School in Nairobi. The conference was attended by over 200 delegates from 16 African nationalities, with a pool of other delegates from the United Kingdom, United States of America, Europe and Asia.
“The relationship between a company’s impact and ethical behavior cannot be downplayed,” he said, referring to a report by KPMG that estimated Safaricom economic impact 9 times more than its profits, creating over 112,000 jobs directly and indirectly.
“Corruption undermines fair competition, distorts development priorities and impedes long-term foreign and domestic investment “, he remarked. He further emphasized the need to craft solutions that will benefit our companies, communities and the environment in which businesses operate.Speaking at the same function, Dr. George Njenga, the Dean Strathmore Business School, emphasized the need for research to be at the heart of every academic institution .This will help bridge the gap the current knowledge gap and as accelerate innovation. He further noted that the conference was a great platform to deliberate on strategies to build and strengthen research, capacity and education management in Africa.
