Vodacom: Leading Fintech Growth & Supporting SMEs in Africa
Today, Vodacom is the biggest fintech platform in Africa. Majority-owned by telecoms giant Vodafone, Vodacom’s services extend far beyond mobile alone.
Africa represents Vodacom’s leading market of operation, where it is also the largest fintech platform on the market, offering an ecosystem of digital personal finance and business solutions for everyday transactions.
The telecom giant’s VodaPay ‘super app’ integrates a series of financial services offerings into one convenient location, making it easier for Africans (the countries where Vodacom operates) to enter the digital economy while supporting SMEs bidding to scale their ecommerce platforms.
Leading Africa’s fintech charge – driving sustainability, ESG
After the launch of its fintech app in 2020, Vodacom has seen significant growth. Its Q4 2023 revenue rose 26.8% year-on-year, largely thanks to its expansion in several African markets outside of key market South Africa.
This includes its strategic expansion in Egypt, as well as scaling its products and services across digital, financial, fixed and IoT sectors.
Indeed, in the last year alone, Vodacom has enabled easier access to smartphones, financial services and healthcare for consumers, as part of its commitment to address inequality and drive greater economic value in African markets. These efforts have supported SMEs in their post-pandemic recoveries.
Speaking on these recent results, Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub says: “Vodacom Group celebrated several key milestones including Vodacom Mozambique’s 20th anniversary, the trialling of 5G in the DRC and the announcement of Project Kuiper, a strategic collaboration with Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite (LEO) communications initiative.
“Across our International business segment, it was pleasing to see that our network investment contributed to a 25.4% increase in 4G sites, which ultimately supported an acceleration of local currency revenue growth.”
Vodacom’s investment in its own infrastructures is contributing to its support of SMEs. Research from Vodacom in March 2024 found that 70% of SMEs across Africa have invested in new technology across the 12 months prior.
By scaling its own infrastructures, including 4G networks, Vodacom has presented its SME clients with the opportunity to unlock further digital capabilities, increasing connectivity and reducing the costs of implementing technology.
Speaking on its recent report titled Levelling the SME Playing Field, CEO Shameel adds: “This report explores the specific challenges SMEs face in Africa and unpacks what needs to be done to help these entrepreneurs overcome these obstacles.
“Our findings highlight the significant role that technology can play in helping small businesses tap into new opportunities, access finance, increase productivity, reduce costs and enhance their competitiveness.”
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