Vodacom Integrated Report 2020

Who we are

Vodacom is a leading African communications company providing a wide range of communication services, including data, mobile and fixed voice, messaging, financial services, Enterprise IT, and converged services to 115.5 million customers (including Safaricom).

From our roots in South Africa, we have grown our mobile network business to include operations in Tanzania, the DRC, Mozambique, Lesotho and Kenya. Our mobile networks cover a total population of over 289 million people¹. Through Vodacom Business Africa (VBA), we offer business-managed services to enterprises in 51 countries. Vodacom is majority-owned by Vodafone (60.5% holding), one of the world’s largest communications companies by revenue.

Why

Our purpose

To provide affordable access to the internet for the next 100 million people in our markets

We connect for a better future

Digital society

Connecting people and things to the internet

Inclusion for all

A digital future that is accessible to all

Planet

Reducing our environmental impact

Chairman’s statement

In my opening statement last year, I suggested that Vodacom was operating in a very dynamic sector and region at a particularly interesting time, with rapid changes in technologies, consumer behaviour and markets, and with growing expectations for businesses to deliver a social purpose. Since then, we have experienced unprecedented disruption at a global, national and personal level.

Phillip Jabulani Moleketi

CEO’s statement

It is pleasing to have achieved a good set of financial results and solid growth rates across the Vodacom Group despite the challenging macroeconomic environments. This has been a particularly volatile year, with sustained pressure on consumer and business spend in South Africa and increased regulatory and policy pressure across our markets, compounded by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic early in 2020. Our financial results reflect the continued successful execution of our financial and digital strategy as we reposition Vodacom from a traditional telco to a fully-fledged digital services company.

Shameel Aziz Joosub

Vodacom Group – enabling positive social outcomes through economic transformation

As a purpose-led organisation with a recently agreed Social Contract, Vodacom has committed to work to create better, more equal societies by delivering on its purpose, to “Connect for a better future”. Enabling positive social outcomes is integral to what we do; our approach to sustainable business ensures that we align our business goals with the delivery of societal benefits.

Our commitment to delivering on our purpose saw Vodacom Group Limited achieve the highest BBBEE recognition of Level 1, with a total score of 120.84 points, up from Level 2 in the prior year. The achievement was made possible by Vodacom South Africa (which includes Vodacom (Pty) Limited, all financial services companies, and Mezzanine Ware (RF) (Pty) Limited successfully retaining their Level 1 BBBEE status, with an increase of 4.64 points on their overall score from 120.04 to 124.60 points out of a total of 130 points.

Our Sustainability report 2020

Vodacom’s separate Sustainability report 2020 provides a more detailed review of the steps that we are taking to accelerate socioeconomic transformation in the markets in which we operate. We review the progress we have made in empowering a connected society, reflecting on our performance in implementing eight of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It assesses our activities in striving to be a leading digital company by ensuring our operations are responsible, ethical and accountable.