Guide to the B Impact

Assessment for Companies

Operating in East Africa
The B Impact Assessment (the BIA) is a comprehensive measurement and management tool
focused on a business’s positive impact on society and the environment. It is the exclusive
impact management platform for pursuing B Corp Certification and GIIRS Rating. This guide
provides important information about the BIA specifically for companies who operate in East
Africa, including:

1. An introduction to the BIA and how it is customized to a specific company’s context

2. Case studies of how companies in East Africa are using the BIA
3. Common “Impact Business Models” and best practices for companies in East Africa
4. Additional resources for managing and improving your social and environmental impact
in the East African context.

June 2018 Edition

BIA Guide for East Africa

Introduction
The B Impact Assessment (the BIA) is a comprehensive measurement and management tool
focused on a business’s positive impact on society and the environment. By completing a set of
questions that reflect impact indicators, best practices, and outcomes, a company receives a
score on a 200 point scale representative of its overall impact on its employees, communities,
and the environment.

The B Impact Assessment is implemented through a free, confidential, online, easy to use
platform available for anyone at www.bimpactassessment.net.

The B Impact Assessment is customized to a company based on size, sector, and geographic
market, allowing for more relevant indicators for each company and more accurate
comparability of impact due to the varying degrees of materiality of each issue within the BIA.
Itis organized across five stakeholder focused impact areas which are Customers, Governance,
Environment, Community and Workers.

Companies in Eastern Africa--Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Burundi and Rwanda--will be

asked to complete the Emerging Markets version of the assessment, which covers topics
universally relevant across Emerging Market countries including Latin America, Asia, and
Africa. This standardization allows for broader comparability across markets through the
adoption of universal principles and standards, as well as opportunities for knowledge sharing
and learning both within and across regions.

While questions are designed to be universally applicable for the purposes of standardization,
they are also designed to allow for local context in how a company completes the assessment.
This document provides guidance to using the B Impact Assessment specifically for companies
operating in East Africa and is intended to be utilized both as an introduction to the BIA as well
as a guide as it is completed.

2
BIA Guide for East Africa

The B Impact Assessment can be used to:

● Assess and compare your performance. By completing the assessment, you receive overall
scores and stakeholder specific scores to understand your overall impact. Benchmarks
within the assessment are available to understand how you compare to other similar
businesses.

● Improve your practices. The assessment, along with this guide, is designed to be
educational and give companies direction on how to improve their overall impact.
Questions can be marked for improvement to track places you’d like to improve, your score
can be tracked over time, and questions feature resources and best practice examples.

● Become a B Corp or get a GIIRS (Global Impact Investing Rating System). The B Impact
Assessment is the exclusive assessment tool used to earn B Corp Certification or recieve a
GIIRS Rating.

Aside from use by your own company, it can also be used to evaluate the performance of other
businesses you partner with, like investees or suppliers. Companies can encourage other
businesses in their network to use the BIA, get GIIRS Rated, or become a Certified B Corp.

How Companies In East Africa Use the B Impact Assessment

“The BIA broadened what we considered as impact. There are very many areas Peperuka
had never considered in terms of impact e.g. we had never thought about things like the
lights we use in the office. We are now working on an improvement plan as well as
documentation and tracking of our procedures so as to show our impact. We are now
talking to our networks about the BIA and how other businesses can use the assessment
to improve on their current operating procedures.”

“Our vision is moving from the current ‘business as usual’ and status quo to people and
institutions taking actions that mind environmental and social impact and thinking
through on how they can build sustainable business practices. We want to accelerate
our vision, set the agenda and a positive example to other organizations so that they
emulate us and know that it is possible to run a sustainable business.”

3
BIA Guide for East Africa

Common “Impact Business Models” and

Best Practices in East Africa
The B Impact Assessment features questions designed to cover operational best practices of a
company, as well as what is considered an “Impact Business Model” of a particular company -
which is how a company might be specifically designed to produce a positive impact for a
stakeholder. Both sections are essential to evaluating the overall performance of a company,
and also provide key insights and improvement opportunities.

This section of the guide features Impact Business Models and best practices that are common
to East Africa, with specific examples. These descriptions can be used to both identify whether
your company might have best practices or an Impact Business Model (and where it fits in the B
Impact Assessment), as well as to identify next steps in improving your score and overall
impact.

Common “Impact Business Models”

Common “Impact Business Models” (displayed by Impact Areas) seen among companies in East
Africa include :

Workers

Impact Hiring / Workforce Development:

Having or developing hiring and training programs for employees who traditionally struggle to
access economic opportunities. In the B Impact Assessment this is identified as having a “Workforce
Development” Impact Business Model, and is evaluated by the % of workers who were from
populations that are chronically
1 underemployed, and the significance of wages, benefits, and training
offered to them.

Example: Daproim Africa - This is an outsourcing social enterprise

that offers quality and affordable volume data management
services to local and international clients by hiring university
students working remotely in East Africa.

Through its Digital Campus Connect program, Daproim Africa has enable students to improve their
standards of living through increased income, which enables them to pay their school fees, meet their
upkeep and support members of their family.

4
BIA Guide for East Africa

Community

Micro-entrepreneurship Opportunities:

Micro-entrepreneurship models involve providing economic opportunities to underrepresented

individuals through business partnerships for micro-distribution or micro-franchising. In the B
Impact Assessment this is identified as having a “Micro-enterprise” Impact Business Model. In the B
Impact Assessment, a micro-enterprise model is evaluated based on the % of micro-entrepreneurs
that qualify as underserved, the % of the overall business dedicated towards micro-enterprise, and the
practices and support provided to those individuals.

Example: African Renewable Energy Distributor uses the Micro

franchise business model to provide solutions of prepaid services
and digital connectivity to the community. Franchisees are low
income or poor individuals with more than half located in rural or
urban poor areas, who they offer on-going product, financial and
operational training.

The ‘organisation believes that by increasing access to low cost business opportunities, they can
enable the economic and social development of underserved communities.

Environment

Providing Renewable or Cleaner Burning Energy Sources:

1

This “Renewable / Cleaner Burning Energy” Impact Business Model is measured by the type of energy
source and product offered, and the percentage of revenues generated from these products. In many
circumstances, they may also produce a social impact by providing beneficial products to individuals
without access (see below).

Example : EcoZoom - EcoZoom is a social enterprise that

makes clean burning, portable wood and charcoal powered
cookstoves, and solar powered lighting solutions.

5
BIA Guide for East Africa

Example: Ecofuels Kenya produces a sustainable source of biofuel from

the oil found in the nut of the croton megalocarpus tree that could be a
direct replacement for diesel fuel in certain engines, and a strong
feedstock for biodiesel in others.

Customers

Access to Basic Services

Providing products or services that are fundamental needs for life, specifically to groups who
previously did not have access, is measured by the degree of the basic service provided or
supported, and the percentage of revenues generated from products to customers without access.

Example: Eco2librium is a social enterprise that applies business

solutions to solve social, economic and environmental problems, by
engaging primarily in energy and forestry related enterprises.
Eco2librium has a solar subsidiary (SOLIBRIUM's) that provides solar
kits to underserved populations partnering to provide Pay as You Go
solar.

SOLIBRIUM's mission is to bring affordable, flexible electricity to a consistently underserved

population. SOLIBRIUM does this by offering modular solar kits coupled with usable appliances,
and a flexible and variable payment method. By the end of 2017, solar electricity will have been
made available to approximately 1500 households, schools, churches, and businesses in rural
Africa. These solar kits use quality products to provide efficient, durable, and long-lasting solar
electricity.

Other “Beneficial” products

1 and services that are captured in the Customer section include

educational products, healthcare, micro-finance, and products or services designed to support

non-profit organizations. Companies that serve underserved populations with these beneficial
products earn incremental credit.

Common Best Practices for Companies in East Africa:

Some common practices assessed in the B Impact Assessment that are practiced by companies in
East Africa, and therefore should be considered both when completing the assessment as well as
when identifying opportunities for improvement, include:

6
BIA Guide for East Africa

Governance

Adopting a Code of Ethics

Companies can combat corruption and bribery by creating a code of ethics that holds their own
company, and potential business partners, to a high standard.

Example: Safaricom, a telecommunications company in Kenya, abides by,

and requires all suppliers to abide by the code of Ethics as listed by the
Global Compact Network Kenya.

This is an initiative by the business community of Kenya to promote and enhance the ethics of
business conduct in Kenya in line with the ten principles of the UN Global Compact in the areas of
Human Rights, Labor Standards, Environment and Anti-corruption, hosted by the Kenya Association
of Manufacturers.

Example: Mobisol, a solar company operating in East Africa, has a code of

ethics as part of the company’s corporate responsibility. Mobisol is a
socially conscious, impact-driven business and aims to support and drive
socio-economic development in the communities the company works in.

Creating fair working conditions, communicating transparently and reducing the company’s
ecological footprint are some aspects of their commitment to build a fully sustainable foundation for
activities all over the world. The company has listed core values in their Code of Ethics.

Writing a Social and Environmental Mission.

1
While frequently an informal part of a company, writing out the specifics of a company’s mission can
help drive positive decision making and engage employees on the issues that are most relevant to the
business.

Example: Daproim Africa, an outsourcing social enterprise, has

formalized its mission and shares it on its website. It’s mission is
“to provide high quality IT enabled business solutions geared
towards delivering positive social transformational impact to
African youth

7
BIA Guide for East Africa

Impact Tracking and Reporting:

In addition to clarifying a company’s mission, developing measurement systems to document and

track the overall impact of the organization can help with transparency and improve the performance
of the organization over time.

Example: Kuza, a leading social technology enterprise providing entrepreneurship & personal
development opportunities to micro & small entrepreneurs from informal communities, makes public
on their website impact performance on key target areas as shown above.

Workers

Performance Evaluations:

In order to advance the career opportunities for employees, formal performance evaluations can
provide guidance on improving their practices. Evaluations can even include commitments to social
and environmental performance.
1

Example: Greenlight Planet, a solar company, evaluate their staff

based on how they directly and indirectly impact on the
environment/society beyond the day to day work.

Employee Ownership:

Whether by reserving ownership for key members of the management, or a more comprehensive
ownership plan like being a worker cooperative, providing employee ownership opportunities can
help engage employees, promote equity, and build the financial wellness of workers.

Example:Kenyan based B Corp Eco2Librium have relocated %

ownership of founder shares to an employee ownership program
for its management team.

8
BIA Guide for East Africa

Human Rights and Labor Policy:

Companies can get their policies and practices related to human rights certified by a third party to
ensure that their working conditions comply with the best standards and regulations.

Example: Oliberte, the world’s first Fair Trade Certified™

footwear manufacturing factory, works to create fair jobs in
Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Ethiopian factory has met Fair Trade USA’s 255 standards and requirements, and undergone
on-site audit that evaluated: working conditions and employee access to good wages, maternity leave,
safe working conditions, strict anti-child-labor regulations, equal-opportunity employment, the right
to form a workers’ union, weekly doctor visits, employee handbooks, equipment safety checks and
environmental stewardship.
.

Community

Hiring Individuals from Underrepresented Groups:

Companies can hire from different types of groups, including unemployed youth, women, people with
disabilities, or displaced people and refugees as a means of proving job opportunities to people who
struggle for economic opportunity and financial security.

Example: Eco2librium works in the interior regions of Western

Kenya, where majority of their population is illiterate and from a
male dominated culture, where women are expected to be
homemakers and nothing else.

Because the organization is

1 located in a region with extreme poverty, Eco2librium has been able to

give these underrepresented communities, and mostly women, life skills and an income to elevate
their families from poverty.

Screening Suppliers for Social and Environmental Impact:

Companies can screen the other businesses that they work with on topics such as ethics and
corruption, human rights and labor practices, or environmental management practices.

Example: Meru Greens Horticulture, an organisation that provides

market link to small holder farmers, has a supplier code of conduct
that they use to screen farmers on negative impact like use of child
labour and also aspects of positive environmental impact.

9
BIA Guide for East Africa

Example: Safaricom, a telecommunications company in Kenya, has

a Schedule of Occupational Health and Safety for all its suppliers
that describes the occupational safety and health (OSH)
requirements expected of all suppliers.

The schedule is split into 5 sections covering general obligations, relevant high-risk products and
services, key performance indicators for occupational health and safety, policies and standards to be
applied by suppliers and consequences for non-compliance.

Environment

Recycling Practices:

Companies can adopt a recycling program by labelling different bins for recycling as a means to
reduce the overall amount of waste that is produced by the company.

Example: Peperuka,an apparel and accessories company, has

clearly marked bins for recycling at the office. They upcycle any
waste fabric and rejected merchandise either to produce other
items or donate to a children’s home.

Environmentally Preferred Materials:

Companies can use recycled or renewable materials to lower the environmental footprint of their
products.

Example: Continental Renewable Energy Co. Ltd makes roofing

1 tiles, fencing posts and plastic lumber from sand and plastic,
reducing the reliance of wood for fencing and protecting the
environment by recycling waste plastics.

More examples of ways to improve, and best practices from both East Africa and around the
world, are available with each question of the B Impact Assessment.

10
BIA Guide for East Africa

How Companies In East Africa Use the B Impact Assessment

“The assessment has definitely been very helpful to us! It caused us to recognize where
we were lacking and then make steps to take this organization to the next level in all
areas of operations. We have identified ways to improve each process, and those are
being focused on for the future. We recently rolled out our Health & Safety policy to both
staff and students. We are also giving several trainings to staff, which encourages
individual learning and growth in all areas of leadership. Akilah is currently working to
develop better practices with suppliers, so that our supplier relationships share common
goals and ethics.”

Additional Resources
There are a variety of initiatives, toolkits and resources that have already been developed for the
East African context to help companies manage and improve their social and environmental
impact. These may be used to both guide a company as they complete the B Impact Assessment
as well as identifying opportunities for improvement for a company.

United Nations Global Compact Resources:

The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), a voluntary initiative by companies commitment to
sustainability principles, particularly the UNGC Network in Kenya, have developed a variety of
resources on the topics of Ethics, Anti-bribery and Corruption, Women’s Empowerment, Child
Rights, and Soil Management Principles.
1

● UNGC Code of Ethics:

http://www.globalcompactkenya.org/index.php/en/about/code-of-ethics
● Case Studies on Anti-bribery and Corruption:
http://www.globalcompactkenya.org/index.php/en/publications/item/121-business-case-
studies-on-anti-bribery-and-corruption-survey-report
● Women’s Empowerment Principles:
http://www.globalcompactkenya.org/index.php/en/initiatives-projects/6-women-s-empo
werment-principles-april-2014-january-2017
● Child Rights Principles:
http://www.globalcompactkenya.org/index.php/en/initiatives-projects/7-children-s-right
s-and-business-principles
● Soil Principles:
https://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/agriculture_and_food/soil-principles
.pdf

11
BIA Guide for East Africa

Industry Specific Resources:

Kenya Flower Council Flowers and Ornamentals Sustainability Standard:

● For companies in the horticultural industry, this standard is designed to promote

environmental conservation, good agricultural practice, social awareness and leadership.
http://kenyaflowercouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Flowers-Ornamentals-Sustai
nability-Standard-December-2015.pdf

KPIs for Pay as You Go Solar:

● Developed by the World Bank Group's Lighting Global Program and GOGLA, this guide
supports Financial Performance Measurement in the Off-Grid Solar industry with the
objectives of improving company operations, optimizing business models, and
facilitating finance into the sector.
https://www.gogla.org/sites/default/files/resource_docs/wbg_kpi_011818_yp_v20interact
ive-comp.pdf

Fair Trade Africa:

● Fairtrade is a global movement which addresses the injustices of conventional trade by

supporting smallholder farmers and workers to secure better terms of trade. Resources
can be used to identify companies to purchase from (purchasing Fair Trade Certified
products) or to implement standards within your own organization.
http://www.fairtradeafrica.net/

East Africa Organic Standards:

● Organic standards in the agriculture industry are based on a holistic production

management system, which promotes and enhances agroecosystem health, including
bio-diversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It seeks to minimise the use of
external inputs, avoiding the use of synthetic drugs, fertilizers and pesticides and aims at
optimising the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants,
animals and people.1 This resource can be used for agricultural companies seeking to
improve their own practices or purchasers of agricultural products.
https://www.ifoam.bio/sites/default/files/page/files/east_african_organic_products_stan
dard_english.pdf

Other Resources:

Acumen Lean Data Framework:

● A framework for impact measurement that uses low cost data collection processes to
collect data that is highly usable in measuring impact, this resource provides information
about low cost, efficient means to collect data about the impact a company has on its
stakeholders.
https://acumen.org/lean-data/

12
BIA Guide for East Africa

Global Living Wage Coalition Living Wage Benchmarks:

● The Global Living Wage Coalition uses an objective standardized methodology to

determine the living wage - defined the wage amount that provides a sufficient standard
of living - in different contexts, including benchmarks for Kenya and Ethiopia.
https://www.globallivingwage.org/

Capital Markets Authority of Kenya Code of Corporate Governance Practices:

● The Capital Markets Authority of Kenya (CMA, an independent government regulating

agency overseeing market intermediaries in Kenya) offers guidelines on good governance
to publicly listed companies in Kenya. The CMA Code of Corporate Governance Practices
for Issuers of Securities to the Public 2015 sets out the principles and specific
recommendations on the structures and processes which companies should adopt in
making good corporate governance an integral part of their business dealings and
culture. It advocates for the application of standards on corporate governance that go
beyond the minimum prescribed by legislation.
https://www.cma.or.ke/

Coming Soon! A future edition of this guide will feature answer to commonly asked questions for
companies in East Africa using the B Impact Assessment.

Feedback and Questions:

The BIA is curated by B Lab, a global non-profit serving people who use business as a force for
good, governed by an independent Standards Advisory Council, and improved by its community
of users and stakeholders. In support of the Standards Advisory Council, there is an East Africa
regional standards group that reviews the content of the B Impact Assessment and provides
advice and recommendations on improvement in future versions.

If you are aware of resources from East Africa or have a company best practice that should be
featured, or any feedback or questions contact B Lab East Africa, headquartered in Nairobi,
Kenya, at: lucy@b-labeastafrica.net.
1

B Lab is a non-profit organization dedicated to using the

power of business as a force for good.
Learn more at:
www.Bcorporation.net
www.Bimpactassessment.net
www.B-Analytics.net
www.Benefitcorp.net
www.Bthechange.com
Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved.
Prepared with the assistance of Lila Rose Frisher.

13