MultiChoice’s ESG strategies and initiatives are aligned to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with specific focus on areas where it can make a direct contribution to positive outcomes in the communities in which it operates.
"We are committed to play our part in Africa’s growth and development and have been doing so for more than 38 years. Today, we reach more than 100 million people across 50 countries. We use our experience, expertise, and platforms to drive economic, environmental, and social change.”
“Our initiatives focus on employment creation, skills development, support of small businesses, caring for our environment and advocacy against gender-based-violence. Our report tells the stories of the impact these initiatives are making to unleash Africa’s potential," says Tumi Masekela, executive head of Corporate Affairs South Africa at MultiChoice.
Highlights in the report include;
Socio-economic development
MultiChoice contributed tax revenues totalling R11.8bn across the continent and invested R324m in Corporate Social Investment initiatives.
Caring for our environment
Although our carbon footprint is minimal, we play our part to address climate challenges across Africa. We adhere to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and have implemented energy and water efficiency in all our buildings. We reduced our carbon footprint from 86,080 to 75,060 tonnes of CO2e.
We partnered with The Earthshot Prize to support and elevate organisations and individuals in Africa who are championing efforts to save our planet. This is a global environmental prize awarded to five winners in five categories, with each winner receiving a GBP1m grant to continue their work. A start-up based in Kenya, Mukuru Clean Stores, was announced the winner of the environmental prize for clean air in December 2022.
Supporting entrepreneurs
We provide start-up entrepreneurs and established small businesses with financial support and mentorship in business development and business management. In 2022, 20 entrepreneurs from South Africa participated in the MultiChoice Accelerator programme during which six finalists secured more than USD12m in investment from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The accelerator programme has been expanded to include: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zambia, Angola, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.
Supporting communities
MultiChoice is dedicated to being a responsible corporate citizen and has established partnerships with numerous organisations throughout Africa.
One notable collaboration is with the Youth Employment Services (YES). The aim of the partnership is to create work opportunities in various industries including ICT, engineering, and satellite communication for unemployed black South Africans between the ages of 18 and 35.
Since the start of our partnership, we invested R107.1m in learnerships, internships and apprenticeships across all nine South African provinces. This investment has helped create 1095 job opportunities.
Diversity and inclusion
At MultiChoice, we enrich lives with values of connection, care, and diverse experiences. Diversity engages, educates, and entertains customers. Our teams span 94 nationalities, mostly African.
We are dedicated to enhancing gender representation: women are 47% of our workforce and 42% of senior management. Equal opportunities and inclusivity guide us. Our policies support all individuals and minority groups.
The management drives transformation through diversity and equity, aided by the Women’s Forum and inclusion council. Through open discussions, campaigns learning tools, we foster inclusivity. We aim for a valued, respected work environment where diverse perspectives thrive.
Transformation
In South Africa, our preferential procurement programme is designed to uplift previously disadvantaged business owners. We prioritise engaging with suppliers who are compliant with the broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) requirements, with a particular focus on supporting black women ownership. We believe that promoting economic ownership among marginalised groups is essential to addressing inequality.
MultiChoice’s commitment to empowering budding enterprises in Africa has yielded significant outcomes, as demonstrated by the following achievements:
R12bn in preferential procurement spend;
R2.6bn direct spend on medium and micro-enterprise;
R2bn spent on suppliers with at least 30% women ownership;
R7.7bn allocated to BBBEE-compliant suppliers.
African stories
We use our platforms to give Africa a voice and to empower its people to tell its stories – locally and on an international stage. We invest in the local television production industry - from discovering and nurturing new talent, to collaborating with gifted filmmakers, to creating homegrown content. Our local shows are also popular with global buyers.
We produced 6,587 more hours of local content this year, which brings our local content library to a total of 76,000 hours. 50% of our general entertainment budget is spent on local content.
An exemplary demonstration of MultiChoice's commitment to showcasing authentic African stories is its investment in the Shaka iLembe series. This monumental production, which took six years to create, involved thorough consultations with historians, academics, and family descendants of Shaka iLembe.
Nurturing talent
We use our resources to create economic opportunities, nurture talent and grow the next generation of storytellers and sports stars in Africa.
Over the past eight years, 367 storytellers have been trained across Africa.
Through the DStv Diski Challenge, 275 players have been promoted to PSL first teams and more than 200 players have represented South African national teams in international competitions.
SuperSport Let’s Play gives young people the opportunity to participate in sport activities. Since inception, 1.6 million children in thousands of schools and communities have been reached through the Let’s Play Physical education challenge.
The DStv Schools Netball Challenge aims to develop young female athletes who play netball at secondary schools across South Africa. In 2022, players and coaches from over 20 schools benefited from a two-day coaching clinic hosted by some of the best netball minds in the country. In total, 9 coaching clinics were conducted in 9 provinces.
SuperSport installed multipurpose sports fields at 38 schools, with 129,000 children participating in weekly sports programmes on these sports fields.To learn more about MultiChoice's development programs, socio-economic investments, and the stories of those who have benefited from this extensive support, please refer to the Group's 2023 ESG Report available at https://investors.multichoice.com/social-investment.php.
