By Lezeth Khoza, Junior journalist
Johannesburg, 03 Jul 2026
Vodacom head office (Image source: Highperform.ai).
Vodacom Group is intensifying its focus on East Africa as a key growth driver, increasing investment in mobile financial services and digital platforms, supported by its expanded stake in Safaricom
The pan-African operator has increased its shareholding in Safaricom to 55%, enabling consolidation of telecommunications, financial services and technology operations
It is operating in a competitive and collaborative environment in one of Africa’s most advanced digital markets, where mobile money and platform-based services are reshaping the sector
Vodacom spokesperson Byron Kennedy said the company is prioritising financial and digital inclusion. It is also scaling its “Tech for Good” initiatives across healthcare, energy, water, agriculture and education in the region
The company said its increased stake in Safaricom is a strategic move aimed at strengthening its ability to scale across high-growth East African markets
The sector is increasingly shifting from traditional connectivity provision towards participation in financial systems and digital economies
“From an investment perspective, fintech is particularly attractive as it is high growth, capital light and highly scalable, leveraging our existing network, distribution and customer base. As a result, it plays a critical role in driving revenue diversification and long term EBITDA growth,” Kennedy stated
“These priorities are underpinned by our purpose-led strategy — to connect for a better future. By connecting people, businesses and governments, we enable economic participation, expand access to essential services and support long term development across our markets.”
Vodacom said fintech and mobile money are central to its “beyond mobile” strategy alongside core connectivity
At group level, the company is leveraging super apps including M-PESA, Vodafone Cash and VodaPay to expand financial inclusion through payments, lending, savings, insurance, investments and cross-border remittances
Despite rapid growth, Vodacom said significant opportunity remains, with a large proportion of the economically active population still unbanked across key markets including Egypt, South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho and Mozambique
As part of its Vision 2030 strategy, Vodacom expects its financial services customer base to grow by around 26% over the next four years, supporting wider economic participation across its footprint
“This strategy is already translating into strong performance. In FY2026, financial services revenue reached R16.8 billion ($1.03 billion), growing over 20%, driven by strong contributions from Egypt and international operations. M-PESA continues to scale, heavily supported by growth in ‘beyond core services’, including payments, savings, lending and merchant offerings—which now contribute 46.4% of M-PESA revenue.”
Beyond fintech, Vodacom continues to invest in core network infrastructure, including 4G, 5G and fibre. These investments underpin service quality, coverage expansion and data growth, and support its Vision 2030 objective of improving customer experience, including network net promoter score (NPS)
The company is also increasing investment in innovation and new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), non-terrestrial networks and digital platforms. It aims to grow beyond-mobile revenues to around 30% of service revenue, driven by financial services, digital services, IoT and fixed-line operations
“From a connectivity perspective, we expect continued improvement in network quality and customer experience, with a clear ambition to strengthen network NPS leadership, where we are already leading in six of our eight markets,” Kennedy noted
“In financial services, we expect continued expansion of our customer base, currently at 103 million, progressing towards our upgraded Vision 2030 target of 130 million customers, supported by strong growth in payments, lending, savings and merchant ecosystems.”
The group is targeting double-digit EBITDA growth and a Return on Capital Employed of 27.5% in FY2026
Kennedy said the company expects continued progress on strategic enablers, including scaling partnerships, advancing AI-driven capabilities and improving capital efficiency across the business
TelecomsVodacom GroupSafaricomFintechMobile-moneyConnectivityNetworkFibre4G5GInfrastructureAIIOTDigital EconomyKenyaEgyptSouth AfricaTanzaniaDR CongoLesotho
