Amazon’s 18-year impact in SA assessed for first time

Amazon is committed to creating long-term shared value for all stakeholders and has made positive economic, social and environmental contributions to South Africa. However, in its 18 years of operating in South Africa, Amazon has never holistically measured any of its entities’ impacts in South Africa against a deliberate framework or produced a single, coherent impact strategy. For this reason, Amazon Web Services contracted Genesis to:

1. Conceptualise and define Amazon’s social, economic and environmental impact in South Africa.
2. Measure Amazon’s performance in South Africa against a robust impact framework to determine if the company has had an impact in South Africa and, if so, what that impact has been.
3. Prepare a strategy for where and how the Amazon entities in South Africa can improve the company’s social, economic and environmental impact.

We provided a detailed mapping of Amazon’s impact in South Africa from 2004 to 2021, assessing how Amazon has contributed to South Africa’s economic growth and service delivery, created education and employment opportunities for a future-ready workforce, contributed to the country’s economic empowerment and transformation agenda, and built environmentally sustainable operations and solar energy production. 

The report covered the three legal Amazon entities in South Africa, namely, Amazon Web Services SA, Amazon Data Services SA, and Amazon Development Centre SA.

The project included the co-creation of a forward-looking impact strategy focused on how Amazon can use its core business to build the digital ecosystem, invest in digital skills development, boost transformation, and be a leading environmental advocate.