Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      World Bank set to back South Africa’s big energy grid roll-out

      20 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Sita hits back at critics, promises faster, automated procurement

      20 June 2025

      The transatlantic race to create the first television

      20 June 2025

      Listed: All the MVNOs in South Africa – 2025 edition

      19 June 2025
    • World

      Watch | Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

      19 June 2025

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      Beijing’s chip champions blacklisted by Taiwan

      16 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | AfriGIS’s Helen Hulett on how tech can help resolve South Africa’s water crisis

      18 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025
    • Opinion

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Fintech » Vodacom targets big growth in financial services

    Vodacom targets big growth in financial services

    By Nqobile Dludla15 November 2021
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub

    Vodacom Group is targeting a 27% expansion in its financial services customer base to 73 million by March 2024, it said on Monday, as it reported a 5.1% fall in half-year earnings.

    Shares in the group, which is majority owned by Britain’s Vodafone, dropped more than 2%.

    Mobile phone operators like Vodacom have been pushing into financial services in Africa, where many do not have good access to traditional banking.

    The company said it hopes its newly launched VodaPay digital financial services “super app” and mobile money service M-Pesa will help drive the uptake of financial services.

    Vodacom hopes VodaPay and M-Pesa will help drive the uptake of financial services

    VodaPay currently provides business loans, device insurance and funeral cover, while M-Pesa provides services including lending, insurance and payments.

    In future, VodPay will also offer loans and savings, international money transfer, QR code payments and person-to-person payments, Vodacom said.

    In the six months to 30 September, the group’s financial services customers, including those of Kenyan subsidiary Safaricom, hit 57.3 million, and the division posted a service revenue jump of 22.7%, almost 10% of its total in Africa.

    To reach its target, the company will need to add roughly eight million customers for the next two years.

    “We’d like to increase our penetration of financial services through all our markets, including South Africa and of course now Egypt and Ethiopia as well,” CEO Shameel Joosub said in an interview.

    Key to growth

    “We see that as key to our growth,” he said. He did not comment on how much revenue that would bring

    Given the high level of smartphone penetration in Egypt, Vodacom wants to expand its VodaPay platform there, where it is buying a 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt.

    Its headline earnings per share, the main profit measure in South Africa, fell to R5.05, hit by foreign exchange headwinds and a tax-related one-off charge.

    Group service revenue increased 5.4% to R38.9-billion, while operating profit rose 5.7% to R14.1-billion, both on a normalised basis.

    It plans to invest more than R10.5-billion in its network in South Africa until March 2022, it said.  — (c) 2021 Reuters



    M-Pesa Vodacom Vodafone Vodafone Egypt VodaPay
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleRand stablecoin ZARP launched with focus on decentralised finance 
    Next Article Telkom is burning through cash as warning signs pile up

    Related Posts

    Listed: All the MVNOs in South Africa – 2025 edition

    19 June 2025

    MTN CEO edges Vodacom rival in pay stakes – but just barely

    18 June 2025

    Vodacom CEO Joosub bags R71m in pay – but taxman will take a big cut

    17 June 2025
    Company News

    Making IT happen: how Trade Link gears up to enable SA retail strategies

    20 June 2025

    Why parents choose CambriLearn for online education

    19 June 2025

    Disrupt first, ask questions later – the uncomfortable truth about incident response

    18 June 2025
    Opinion

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    AI and the future of ICT distribution

    16 June 2025

    Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

    13 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.