South Africa Telecoms News
M&A
Vodacom completes ‘high-growth market arc’ with controlling Safaricom stake
South African operator completes $2.1bn deal to take majority control of Safaricom, including its Ethiopian venture and m-money platform M-PESA. CEO Shameel Joosub considers it more than a mere bulk-up as Vodacom looks to leverage East African experience across the continent.
Analyst BriefingVodafonewatch: Vodafone treads uneven road to recovery
Analyst Briefing: Vodafone says it is turning a page but the same old storyline persists: challenge in Germany, market share pressure in the UK, and emerging market headaches in Africa. Progress has been made, though, and CEO Della Valle is happy to talk it up.
Financial & PerformanceVodafone’s Della Valle declares start of another ‘new chapter’
FY25–26: CEO considers the Group to be ‘stable’ and ready to kick on towards milestones promised over past few years: revival in Germany, growth in B2B, and broad-based free cash flow momentum across the Group. Questions remain over whether new chapter brings Vodafone any closer to a happily ever after…
Financial & PerformanceFamiliar bumps on Vodafone’s road to recovery
FY25–26 In-depth: Group’s headline numbers look healthy with most metrics moving in the right direction, but underlying challenge remains in Germany and promise of hope from Africa yet to fully materialise. UK benefits from merger bulk-up but scale is no guarantee of market share…
Financial & Performance‘Invest or die’ at Vodacom, Vodafone keeps things flexible
FY25–26 Spend: Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub sees no need for nuance in justifying capex plans; Vodafone’s Margherita Della Valle is more measured as capital intensity programme builds in flexibility and future investment even as network outlay tapers in key markets.
Financial & PerformanceGuidance: more to emerge in Vodafone’s new growth story
Vodafone hits upper end of guidance and hopes to carry momentum into the next FY. Mid-term targets are far looser, with ‘new chapter’ strategy focused on approach rather than deliverables.
Financial & PerformanceVodacom’s IoT bet ‘still in startup’ seven years in
Group CEO Shameel Joosub says IoT.nxt is yet to break even, but producing confidence-inspiring results and (modestly) contributing to Vodacom’s ‘beyond mobile’ expansion.
Financial & PerformanceVodacom seeks African fibre synergies with SA to lead the way
FY25–26: Vodacom is looking to scale its fibre footprint, leveraging M&A-boosted South African strengths to propel expansion in Kenya and Tanzania…
Financial & PerformanceSafaricom Ethiopia moves ‘from startup to scale’ with breakeven in touching distance
Ethiopian operator is entering its scale-up phase, with rapid revenue growth, losses falling, and investment slowing to put EBITDA breakeven within sights…
Financial & PerformanceSafaricom shrugs off M-PESA carve-out talk as m-money closes in on connectivity
CEO Peter Ndegwa dismisses recurring talk of an m-money spin-off as M-PESA closes in on traditional Connectivity Business revenue. Further integration on the cards, he says, to leverage strengths of each…
Financial & PerformanceHelios plans extra $70m of infra spend amid MEA data boom
Buoyant tower group enlarges capex budget for this year off the back of “broad-based” uptick in demand for tenancies from its Middle East and Africa MNO clients.
Products & ServicesMobile money hits maturity as telcos tap into accelerating usage
In-depth: More than $2tn flowed through mobile money wallets worldwide in 2025, with Africa’s telcos taking a piece of the pie. Safaricom’s flagship M-PESA and MNT’s MoMo continue to dominate, but momentum is being built in new areas as spending habits change and adoption rises…
Partnerships & AlliancesVodafone draws on $1bn Google Cloud ties in enterprise AI expansion
Vodafone Business homes in on SMEs with expansion of Google Cloud-powered services portfolio. New customer service and security offerings for European customers mark the latest development in the pair’s ten-year link-up…
PeoplewatchVodafone Peoplewatch: Vi appoints AI chief to lead ‘intelligent techco’ transition
April 2026 update, including: new AI Strategy Architect gets a wide-ranging transformation brief in India; Safaricom fills two-year IT Director vacancy; senior departures in business resilience, external affairs, and the Vodacom boardroom; Vodafone IoT Americas further strengthened; and more…
Analyst BriefingVodafonewatch: grand openings, network upgrades
Analyst Briefing: Vodafone cuts the ribbon to a new logistics hub in Luxembourg and data centre in Turkey; signs a series of cable upgrade deals in Germany and network innovation collaborations with Tiami Networks, Cirrus360, and more; plus M&A in Czechia and AI expertise exports in Kenya…
Network & InfraSouth Africa: MAZIV targets townships with major ‘fibre to the shack’ push
In-depth: Vodacom-backed fibreco’s Vumatel wholesale arm is targeting townships with a ‘fibre-to-the-shack’ rollout to unlock digital inclusion at scale. Smart deployment, aggressive pricing, and parental synergies enable the plan, rivalling wireless and satellite alternatives.
InterviewBattle scars and skin in the game: VOIS breaks out from Vodafone’s captive shared services
Deep dive: by stepping out of the shadow, the once-captive telco shared services business is rewriting the playbook for commercial enterprise ‘shared intelligence’ as a standalone powerhouse. With Accenture on side, and tapping Vodafone Business and others for go-to-market, leaders Gary Adey and Chris Meads tell TelcoTitans that VOIS is an increasingly ‘big lever’ for its parent to pull…
Analyst BriefingVodafonewatch MWC roundup: satcomms centre stage; AI-RAN advancing
Analyst Briefing: Satcomms, D2D, edge compute, and AI-RAN were among the focus areas for Vodafone in Barcelona…
Analyst BriefingVodafonewatch: redrawing the European footprint (again)
Analyst Briefing: unerringly upbeat CEO Margherita Della Valle pitched German turnaround (again), UK merger integration (at pace), and more M&A (Ziggo, towers, and beyond). Elsewhere, Amdocs gets in on cable overhaul; Cornerstone considers micro-edge compute options …
Financial & PerformanceVodafone guidance: plenty of confidence in these ‘early days’
Q3 FY25–26: Vodafone set to come out of the year at the upper end of free cash flow and EBITDAaL guidance, with new CFO Pilar López picking up on the CEO’s positive view of things moving forward.
Financial & PerformanceMore of the same: Vodafone leans on outposts as core OpCos wobble
Q3 FY25–26: CEO Margherita Della continues to repeat optimism about the potential for a turnaround in Germany and progress in the UK, but Q3 earnings are yet to back her up in earnest. Wider European industry could be in for reform, however, and the CEO remains confident that Vodafone will be well placed to capitalise…
PeoplewatchM-PESA boss exits for pan-Africa banking project
Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, who has led Africa’s largest m-money platform for six years, takes new Absa Group job.