Environment, Social and Governance Agenda

At Letshego Africa, we are intent on operating a profitable business on a sustainable basis and we are committed to contributing to Africa’s growth and prosperity, as well as to improving the lives of our customers.
Letshego’s vision is to become a leading African inclusive finance group, with a focus on financial inclusion.
 

Environmental and Social Governance (ESG)

We are committed to contributing to sustainable development in the countries in which we operate through ethical and responsible business practices, as well as through unlocking value for our stakeholders and advancing an ESG-aligned agenda that is directed towards creating long term sustainability. Our commitment includes managing  the environmental and social effects that the Group’s activities and solutions have on all stakeholders, and responding strategically to the risks which environmental and social pressures have on our ability to create sustainable value for our stakeholders.
 
Part of our ESG agenda is to ensure responsible and sustainable financing. We will embed the assessment of the environmental and social risks within our Enterprise-wide Risk Management (ERM) framework, and will apply relevant globally accepted environmental and social risk management principles across our financing activities by;
  •  Utilising best practice, on a best effort basis, as a framework for assessing and addressing environmental and social risks associated with our financial solutions;
  •  Integrating environmental and social management systems, into our “BAU” (business as usual) on a continuous and reiterative basis;
  •  Continuing to develop and formalise our environmental and social data collection across our operations;
  •  Aligning our risk control management procedures;
  •  Complying with International Standards and other ESG guidelines of material stakeholders.
 
We have established a partnership with a leading ESG advisory firm that assists with analysing and better understanding the ESG themes impacting on Group operations. By leveraging social performance data, Letshego will mitigate ESG-related risks and drive sustainable growth.
In line with our strategic intent to be a leading African inclusive finance group and in the face of pressing developmental challenges in Africa, we have recognised that sustainability lies in our ability to manage our risks from a holistic point of view. This includes the identification of relevant Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) related risks.
 
An independent ESG consulting firm conducted an Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD) on Letshego in 2015 and 2016. The ESDD ascertained our levels of compliance with the following standards:
  •  The IFC Performance Standards
  •  The IFC Interpretation Note on Financial Intermediaries
  •  The United Nations Environmental Programme Statement of Commitment by Financial Institutions on Sustainable Development
  •  The United Nations Global Compact
  •  The Centre for Financial Inclusion SMART Campaign Client Protection Principles
  •  International Labour Organisation Core Labour Standards
 
No red flags were identified and we were classified as a Category FI-3 investment grade according to the World Bank and IFC Guidelines (Interpretation Note on Financial Intermediaries). Category FI-3 means that our operations (both existing and proposed) include financial exposure to business activities that predominantly have minimal or no adverse environmental or social impacts.