Vodacom Foundation Appoints New Board to Accelerate Ambition to Impact 50 Million Lives Across Africa by 2030

Vodacom Group  has established the Vodacom Foundation, a pan-African platform bringing together eight foundations across its operating footprint to strengthen and consolidate the company’s social impact initiatives across the continent.

The Foundation has appointed a seven-member Board chaired by economist Dr Vera Songwe as it advances its strategy to positively impact 50 million lives by 2030. The Board brings together expertise in economic development, public policy, technology, sustainability, governance and social impact.

The new structure is designed to support a shift towards scalable, digitally enabled programmes focused on three areas: connected health, connected education and digital skilling. The Foundation will leverage Vodacom’s technology, connectivity and partnerships to address developmental and social challenges across African markets.

Dr Vera Songwe, Chairperson of the Vodacom Foundation Board, said Africa has an opportunity to use technology and connectivity to address developmental challenges. She added that the Foundation’s ambition to impact 50 million lives by 2030 would require scalable and sustainable programmes across the continent.

The Board includes Vodacom Group CEO and Foundation founder Shameel Joosub, Graça Machel, Ayman Essam, Anna Isaac and Gerhard van Niekerk as trustees. Mashudu Ndou serves as Executive Head of the Foundation and oversees its activities across Africa.

Under its Connected Health pillar, the Foundation will develop digitally enabled approaches aimed at improving health outcomes. These include digital maternal-care networks connecting community screening, pregnancy tracking, frontline healthcare support and emergency referral pathways.

The Connected Education pillar will focus on improving teacher effectiveness and student learning outcomes, particularly in remote and understaffed classrooms. The Foundation plans to use digital tools, coaching and data-driven support to strengthen education delivery.

One of the initiatives under this pillar is Classroom Compass, a digital platform designed to support teachers and students through classroom tools, teacher coaching, AI-enabled planning and real-time data to identify areas requiring additional educational support.

The Foundation’s Digital Skilling pillar will target youth employment and economic opportunities through market-aligned digital skills programmes, internships, employment placement pathways, entrepreneurship support and career development initiatives.

Shameel Joosub, CEO of Vodacom Group, said the strengthened leadership structure and regional approach would enable the Foundation to scale successful programmes, deepen partnerships and use technology to create measurable and lasting impact across Africa.

The Foundation will also expand partnerships with governments, co-funders, technical partners and implementation organisations to increase the reach and sustainability of its programmes. The consolidated structure represents a move from country-level initiatives towards a coordinated regional approach that uses Vodacom Group’s technology, relationships and expertise to deliver scalable social-impact programmes across the continent.