MTN and Vodacom dwarf South Africa’s listed tech sector

MTN Group and Vodacom Group, the two giants of South Africa’s telecommunications sector, each clock up more than R1-billion in revenue in just two and three days, respectively.

TechCentral analysed companies listed in the technology section of the JSE, along with those in the tech-heavy telecoms sector, to see just how quickly locally listed tech companies rack up revenue.

A few things are worth noting. MultiChoice Group has been included in the analysis despite its delisting in December 2025 following its acquisition by French pay-TV giant Groupe Canal+. Cell C, which was spun out of Blu Label Unlimited and separately listed in November last year, has also been included based on Blu Label’s most recent annual reporting — with its revenue not subtracted from Blu Label’s figures.

The daily run rate is calculated by dividing total annual revenue by 365. This crude average does not account for seasonality, public holidays or other factors that determine the ebbs and flows of income generation in a given financial year. All figures are taken from the latest available annual reports, which cover differing financial year-ends.

With group revenue of R226.7-billion and R152.2-billion, respectively, pan-African operators MTN and Vodacom outstrip their JSE-listed peers by a considerable distance. MTN’s daily run rate of roughly R621-million and Vodacom’s R417-million highlight the sheer scale of the country’s telecoms giants — and the risk posed by any disruption to their operations.

Hot on their heels is technology investment and e-commerce giant Naspers, which takes about three days to rack up R1-billion in revenue.

Chase pack

The chase pack is led by IT services firm Datatec (R67.3-billion in annual revenue), followed by MultiChoice (R50.8-billion), with Telkom Group in sixth place overall. Platform specialist WeBuyCars (R26.4-billion) rounds out this group. Telkom’s performance in South Africa’s prepaid market has been outstanding, but with rivals Vodacom and MTN changing tactics to regain market share, whether Telkom can sustain its gains will be worth watching.

Blu Label takes 26 days and Reunert 27 days to make R1-billion, with revenues in the R38-million/day range. Lesaka Technologies is the first of the fintechs to feature in the comparison, with newly listed Optasia (R4.4-billion) landing in 17th place. Optasia delivered better-than-expected results for the year ended 31 December 2025.

Altron — another JSE stalwart — takes 37 days to make R1-billion. Mustek, the IT distribution group, crosses the line in 51 days.

Monsters and minnows

Further down the table, the gaps widen dramatically and the data starts telling a different kind of story.

iOCO, the ICT services business carved out of EOH, and Weaver Fintech sit at 66 and 67 days, respectively. Karooooo, the parent company of vehicle tracking specialist Cartrack, takes 80 days, while Bytes Technology Group — a UK-listed but South Africa-originated software licensing and IT solutions business — reaches the milestone in 91 days.

Read: The top-performing South African tech shares of 2025

eMedia Holdings needs 116 days and Nutun, the debt collections and BPO business spun out of Transaction Capital, requires 124 days. Araxi Group (trading as Capital Appreciation), the payments and fintech group, stretches to 281 days, while PBT Holdings and Metrofile Holdings take 336 and 343 days, respectively. 4Sight Holdings takes precisely 365 days — exactly a full year — to accumulate R1-billion in revenue.

At the tail end of the table, ISA Holdings, the niche IT services business, would take 3 101 days — roughly eight-and-a-half years — to generate R1-billion at its current daily run rate of R322 523. Africa Bitcoin Corporation, which generates an average of R20 782/day, would need 48 120 days — approximately 132 years. — (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media