Annual Results: Vodacom Aims for 260 Million Users and Revenue Diversification by 2030

Vodacom Group’ s annual results for the year ending March 31, 2025, offer a glimpse into a company balancing both progress and challenges as it moves steadily toward its Vision 2030 goals. The economic landscape remains anything but smooth, with currency fluctuations and broader macroeconomic pressures testing Vodacom’s mettle. Yet, through it all, the group has shown quiet resilience, driven by a clear focus on expanding its digital and financial services across Africa.  

Financial Performance: How the Numbers Stack Up 

Looking at the numbers, the story is one of cautious optimism. Group revenue crept up 1.1% to R152.2 billion, but when you strip out the noise of currency swings, that growth looks much stronger—around 10.9%. Service revenue was mostly steady, dipping slightly by 0.1%, but again, normalized figures tell a different tale, showing an encouraging 11.2% growth, exceeding the company’s medium-term expectations. 

What really stands out is Vodacom’s financial services division, which has become a meaningful driver of growth. It grew by 7.6% to reach R14 billion and now accounts for more than one in ten rand of the group’s service revenue. This is largely thanks to M-Pesa, which continues to be a powerhouse, processing over US$450 billion in transactions—an impressive 18.3% increase that speaks to the growing demand for mobile financial services across the continent. 

But it’s not all smooth sailing. EBITDA—the group’s core profitability measure—slipped by 1.1% to R55.5 billion. The culprit? Foreign exchange pressures, particularly in Vodacom’s international operations, along with some “soft costs,” as the company candidly puts it. Adjusting for these factors, however, shows that underlying operational performance is actually improving, with a normalized growth of 7.8%. 

Planning for the Future: Vision 2030  

As Vodacom wraps up its Vision 2025 strategy, the company is already setting its sights higher with bold ambitions for Vision 2030. CEO Shameel Joosub is clear about the path forward: grow the customer base to 260 million and expand financial services users to 120 million. Central to this vision is shifting the mix of Group service revenue—aiming to increase the share coming from beyond traditional mobile services from 21% today to a substantial 30%, reinforcing Vodacom’s role as a leader in all thing’s connectivity. 

Investment remains at the heart of this plan. Vodacom is committing over R20 billion in capital expenditure for the upcoming financial year, signaling a serious push to build and strengthen its infrastructure. But it’s not just about technology for technology’s sake. The company is doubling down on “Tech for Good” projects like m-mama and Code Like a Girl—initiatives designed not only to improve lives across Africa but also to equip a million young people with the digital skills they need to thrive in the future. 

Joosub sums it up best at the Vodacom Group Annual Results Media Call: Safaricom is “structurally well positioned for growth, anchored in our purpose of connecting people for a better future.” It’s a powerful reminder that Vodacom’s growth ambitions are deeply tied to sustainable, inclusive progress—not just for the company, but for the communities it serves across the continent.  

Our Vision 2030 ambition remains clear: to be Africa’s leading communications company, serving communities, businesses, and governments with world-class connectivity and digital solutions. Safaricom is structurally well positioned for growth, anchored in our purpose of connecting people for a better future. The next chapter is defined by empowering people, protecting the planet, and maintaining trust—elevating customer experience, innovating for growth, and investing in strategic enablers for growth and efficiency.

– Shameel Joosub, CEO, Vodacom Group

Staying Optimistic About What’s Next  

Vodacom faces its share of challenges. The proposed acquisition of a stake in Maziv remains in limbo, with Vodacom appealing the Competition Tribunal’s decision. Joosub expressed his disappointment, stating that it “will be, honestly, a travesty for South Africa” if the acquisition fails, given the potential for investment and accelerated fiber deployment. 

The company is also keeping a close eye on the potential of satellite connectivity. While Vodacom has “no issue with Starlink launching,” it advocates for a level playing field for all telecoms operators, emphasizing that satellite connectivity is an “important part of connectivity in South Africa.”  

In terms of satellite, we’re basically partnering with Kuiper, with AST, and potentially even others going forward. We’re doing trials with AST for direct-to-mobile. You would have seen we did the first video call on direct-to-mobile with Vodafone or through Vodafone a few months ago. So, technology is working, and that’s why we say we’re supportive of the benefits that satellite can bring. It’s direct-to-mobile, it’s direct-to-dish, and, of course, there’s the backhaul capability, capacity, and pricing that it brings to telco operators. So, satellite is a necessary part of being able to expand coverage to everyone.

– Shameel Joosub, CEO, Vodacom Group

Despite challenges, Vodacom remains optimistic about the structural growth opportunity that Africa represents. The company is seeing “a lot more stability in the currencies as we go forward” and expects “the GDP growth for all our markets” to improve.