A sustainable business strategy to deliver on our purpose
Helios Towers plays an important role in enabling connectivity in Africa and contributing to social and economic development in our markets. Our strategy reflects our economic, social and environmental impacts and the value we create for all our stakeholders.
The three pillars of our strategy build on our values of Integrity, Partnership and Excellence and will help us to deliver on our purpose of driving the growth of communications in Africa.
Business excellence and efficiency
- Resilience, continuity and innovation for long-term business performance and growth
We will continue to grow our business sustainably and innovate for our customers’ needs, maximising delivery of a continuous network service while minimising our environmental impact.
KPIs and targets
KPIs
- Tenancy ratio
- Adjusted EBITDA margin
Targets
- Achieve an average one-minute weekly downtime per tower by the end of 20251
Network access and sustainable development
- Increasing connectivity to improve livelihoods and strengthen economies
We will enable more individuals, communities and organisations to connect to a mobile network, providing access to life-enhancing services and driving economic growth in Africa.
KPIs and targets
KPIs
- Population coverage3
Targets
- Expand to 12,000 towers in eight markets by the end of 2025
- Increase the number of sites in rural and underserved regions by 1,500 by the end of 2025
- Develop bespoke community needs‑based partnerships in 2021
- Pilot phone-charging points for free community use on selected sites in 20214
Empowered people and partnerships
- Building a network for shared success, with safety as a priority for all
We will keep our people and partners safe, supporting them to reach their full potential, and work to the highest ethical, social and environmental standards.
KPIs and targets
KPIs
- Percentage of local employees in our operating companies
- Diversity, of gender and ethnicity, in management positions
- Percentage of employees trained in Lean Six Sigma
Targets
- All maintenance partners to achieve ISO 45001 certification and 100% in the Helios Towers SHEQ assessment by the end of 20255
- Assess all key suppliers against sustainability criteria by the end of 2022
Read more about our strategy, KPIs and targets
Read more about our contribution to the UN SDGs
1 The Group has five years to achieve this milestone for any new network acquisition.
2 This target excludes special projects and smaller, unique build-to-suit projects.
3 Our population figures are calculated using WorldPop estimates 2020: https://www.worldpop.org/.
4Where grid power is not readily available, we will add charging points on community-accessible sites to increase access to technology.
5New Maintenance Partners have three years to achieve ISO 45001 from start of contract with HT.