In a significant milestone for telecommunications giant Vodacom Group, whose main subsidiaries include Safaricom, the company has achieved the historic milestone of surpassing 200 million customers. This amazing feat, announced by CEO Shamir Joosab, shows that the company's customer base has doubled since 2018, when he reached the remarkable 100 million mark.
This article delves into the factors driving Vodacom's rapid growth and the impact this achievement has on the global telecommunications dynamic landscape.
“As a purpose-driven company, having a transformative impact on the customers and economies of the countries in which we operate provides a strong foundation for ensuring sustainable growth for our business.” Jusab said.
He said the trading update for the quarter ended 31 December 2023 showed that Vodacom Group's revenue increased by 26.8% during the quarter, boosted by the acquisition of Vodafone Egypt, where revenue growth continues to accelerate. and R38.9 billion, it added.
On a pro forma basis, calculated as if Egypt had been owned since April 1, 2022, revenue growth was 9.6%.
In Egypt, local currency revenue increased 31.5%, driven by strong performance in mobile data, fixed and financial services, including a 40.7% improvement in data traffic.
“In South Africa, we achieved a satisfactory revenue growth of 4.0%, taking into account the strong comparison with the enhanced load shedding in the same period last year,” said Joosab.
“Across our international business units, we are pleased that our network investments contributed to a 25.4% increase in 4G sites, ultimately supporting accelerated local currency revenue growth. 's investments, combined with our focus on digital inclusion, pioneering terminal financing and local coverage models, we expect these to create further meaningful growth opportunities across our eight markets.
“Revenues from new services such as financial and digital services, fixed telephony and IoT are on track for a targeted contribution of 25-30% in the medium term.”
The contribution of new services revenue for the quarter exceeded 20% for the first time, amounting to R6.2 billion. Financial services remain the largest component of new services, with sales for the quarter increasing by 31.0% to R3.4 billion. This is mainly on the back of new product expansion and his strong customer growth of 12.0%.
“We continue to be Africa's largest mobile money platform by transaction value processed, with transaction value reaching nearly S$100 billion in the quarter. “This is a key focus for the group. In South Africa, the summer campaign saw VodaPay reach 4.8 million registered users and drive strong user engagement on the platform,” said Joosub. Masu.
Commit to Maziv transaction
On 10 November 2021, Vodacom announced a major step forward in expanding its fiber offering in South Africa.
Through the announcement of the acquisition of an initial 30% stake in Maziv, a joint venture housing fiber assets between Vodacom South Africa and Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH), Vodacom positions itself as a highly attractive and fast-growing company in South Africa. The company intends to gain exposure to The largest open access fiber players, including Vumatel and Dark Fiber Africa.
“With our capital injection and strategic support, we believe this transaction will further accelerate fiber optic growth in South Africa, drive economic development and close the digital divide in South Africa.”
In October 2022, ICASA approved the transaction, subject to licensing conditions including open access.
In August 2023, the Competition Commission issued a recommendation to the Competition Tribunal to prohibit the transaction.
“The next regulatory step is for the transaction to be submitted to the Competition Tribunal, which will review the full merits of the transaction for final approval,” Joosab said.
“Looking forward to the Competition Tribunal hearing in May 2024, Vodacom intends to demonstrate the strong public interest and pro-competitive benefits this transaction will bring to the fiber market, and the country as a whole.”