Zoho has announced a new CSR initiative in Kenya. It has partnered with green manufacturer MOMO Pencils. MOMO pencils designs and manufactures pencils using recycled newspaper rather than wood. Its whole ethos is to ensure that it gives back to the environment. They have planted over 7,000 trees over the last two years.
The company also runs a Hope for Literacy, which aims to deliver pencils into the hands of children in low income households that cannot afford them. For every pack of pencils purchased the company donate a pack to a less fortunate child. The intent is to help them develop and support their education. And help to eradicate inter-generational poverty in Kenya through education.
Veerakumar Natarajan, Country Head, Zoho Kenya commented, “MOMO Pencils’ “Hope for Literacy” program strongly aligns with Zoho’s values. At Zoho, we have always believed in serving the local community, uplifting the underserved, and fostering development that is responsible and sustainable.
“Our growth approach — which we refer to as Transnational Localism — reflects the same values, wherein we grow with the local community by opening local offices, hiring talent locally, conducting upskilling initiatives, and working with regional bodies to empower local businesses with technology. In continuation of this commitment to supporting progress at grassroots level, we are looking forward to working with MOMO Pencils to make a lasting and positive impact on society and the environment.”
Starting Small
One of the first initiatives that the partnership initiated was on February 14th when the MOU was signed at the Zoho offices. Zoho invited a group of 25 students to the Zoho office from Creative Minds, a primary school in Athi River. This was one of the first schools that MOMO Pencils donated pencils and tree seeds for the pupils to plant.
During their visit the Zoho team will introduce them to the future of work. And explain some of the different career paths open to them in the STEM fields. The two companies will also donate 25,000 wood-free pencils to 10 schools in Kenya. They will also plant 1,000 trees at those schools in 2024. During its visits to the schools, Zoho will provide skills mentorship support during those visits. The first school to benefit will be the Creative Minds School on February 16th.
Mahamud Omari, CEO, MOMO Pencils, commented, “In Kenya, where millions of children face barriers to quality education due to poverty, the “Hope for Literacy” program was established to bridge the literacy gap by supporting the education of 1 million school-going children from marginalized families. We’re delighted to have Zoho join us as one of our partners in this journey of transforming Kenyan families, schools, and communities.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Zoho continues to impress with its transnational localism strategy. This is not a tick-box CSR exercise for Zoho. Phil Wainwright of Diginomica wrote a compelling article out of Zoho Day 2024 that explains more about the Zoho approach.
Zoho continues to impress, finding ways to support the local communities it works in, with more than just donations. It is also giving its time to help educate and lift up people from poverty through education. It will be interesting to see, as it expands its operations within Kenya, how it broadens and extends the transnational program.
Zoho continues to expand relationships on all fronts in Kenya; this is the second announcement this year. Last month it announced a partnership with M-PESA, the mobile banking solution that is widely used across the country.
