by Tech Talk | Mar 15, 2023 | Articles
From climate change and energy issues to the rising cost to do business in Africa amidst skills shortages and disrupted supply chains, enterprises of every size are facing immense challenges right now. Vodacom Business knows that in the world of business, obstacles reign. As a techco that believes technology can empower enterprises to thrive, Vodacom Business is unveiling its new brand strategy that has been designed to help organisations turn these problems into possibilities, with the new tagline ‘Turn to Us’.
“Businesses now more than ever are seeking support, but in such an uncertain operating environment, who do they turn to for guidance? In addition, digital technology can play a key role in strengthening business resilience and boosting productivity, but many enterprises lack the expertise to use connectivity effectively. At Vodacom Business we are listening more to what our clients want and need, and working with them to find solutions together so that they can achieve their goals in these tough times. Our new brand vision is to be a trusted partner for businesses, empower them with technology solutions that drive progress and inspire innovation, and become a part of their success story,” says William Mzimba, Chief Officer at Vodacom Business.
Vodacom Business’s new brand positioning, underscored by recent market research and critical client insights, highlighted an opportunity across small to large businesses for a trusted partner, who could provide customisable, reliable and affordable connectivity products and services. The changing economic landscape requires businesses like Vodacom to be more attentive to collaborating with clients to help them succeed.
Vodacom Business offers enterprise clients a full suite of mobile, wireless, satellite and fixed-line connectivity solutions, internet and virtual private network services, Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, cloud hosting and security services, as well as eGovernment services. The Turn to Us campaign builds on the brand’s B2B journey, in which it has been supporting digital transformation in targeted industries, including mining and manufacturing, retail and logistics, the public sector and small to medium enterprises (SMEs), in South Africa and markets across Africa.
“We are now taking Vodacom Business one step further, as a collaborative connectivity partner, to help harness the potential of all businesses, which are critical for our continent’s sustainable socio-economic development. Our strategy supports the Vodacom Group’s broader purpose of going further together in driving a digital future where no one is left behind,” adds Mzimba.
The rebranding campaign, accompanied by emotive radio and TV commercials, showcases and brings to life how businesses can find new opportunities through adversity with the support of Vodacom Business and its technology solutions.
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by Tech Talk | Feb 21, 2023 | Articles
Vodacom’s Walk A Child to School campaign has partnered with the Exhibition for a Child, a Non-Profit Organization which focuses on community based educational initiatives for rural learner development to distribute 1 130 shoes and 1 130 pairs of socks to learners at schools throughout the Eastern Cape. The initiative supports the mobile operator’s commitment to enhancing access to quality education and ensuring youth can succeed in South Africa.
“Learners throughout South Africa often must walk long distances to school every day. Imagine this challenge barefoot, as many parents are unable to afford proper footwear. At Vodacom, we believe in education as empowering tool for young people in this country, but without access to essentials, how can learners concentrate, perform well, and want to stay in school? Over the past three years, we have donated socks and shoes to over 1900 children in schools in the Eastern Cape, as we aim to remove barriers to fulfilling our youth’s potential and ensuring no one is left behind,” says Mpumelelo Khumalo, Managing Executive, Vodacom Eastern Region.
In the most recent National Household Transport Survey, 63% of learners across the country ‘walk all the way’ to school, with those in rural areas more likely to travel on foot due to the lack and expense of available transport. A pair of shoes can help protect feet from the elements, especially in winter, and prevent the risk of injury or infection so that learning is not disrupted and is a more comfortable experience.
Since January this year, Vodacom has been distributing more than 2 000 items of footwear to 14 schools in the Eastern Cape, including: Gertrude Shope, Newell High School, JS Skenjana, Qenqeleka Senior Primary School, Avonton Senior Primary School, Mthiza High School, Nyibiba Primary School, Mangala Senior Secondary School, Leppan Senior Primary School, Phillip Mtywaku Senior Secondary School, Archie Velile Senior Secondary School, Swane Junior Secondary School, Dudumeni Senior Secondary School and Phahamang Senior Primary School.
Vodacom’s partnership with NPOs is on and above various other educational initiatives in the region, such as the Vodacom Sustainable Living project, which involves schools to inspire youth to enter the agriculture sector and improve food security. In addition, Vodacom Eastern Region donated scientific calculators to local schools to encourage uptake in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) subjects, and enable youth to be equal participants in the digital age.
“We continue to work with the Department of Basic Education and non-government organisations to build a strong education ecosystem that has the right resources so that learners are equipped with skills and tools to contribute meaningfully to South Africa’s socio-economic development. These initiatives underpin our purpose in connecting everyone to better a future,” concludes Khumalo.
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by Tech Talk | Feb 14, 2023 | Articles
Transformative 2Africa subsea cable lands at the Vodacom facility in Gqeberha (South Africa’s Eastern Cape), to provide a gateway to direct international connectivity for faster, more reliable internet services in the country.
The 2Africa subsea cable, the largest subsea cable system in the world, has landed at the Vodacom network facility in Gqeberha, South Africa. This is the first submarine cable landing in the Eastern Cape region, promising greater internet capacity and acceleration of connectivity across the province and supporting South Africa’s growing digital economy.
The 2Africa Consortium includes eight international partners, China Mobile International, Meta (Facebook), MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, center3 (stc), Telecom Egypt, Vodafone/Vodacom and WIOCC, who have partnered to build 2Africa. Launched in May 2022, the subsea cable project aims to significantly increase the capacity, quality, and availability of internet connectivity between Africa and the rest of the world.
The Gqeberha landing is the 2Africa project’s third on the coast of South Africa, following two recent landings in the Western Cape by MTN GlobalConnect, Vodacom is the designated landing partner, providing facilities for the cable’s installation at an existing site in the Summerstrand area.
“This latest 2Africa cable landing affirms Vodacom’s commitment to driving digital inclusion in Africa by increasing access to quality internet services and investing in the network infrastructure to support this goal. We cannot achieve this alone, and collaboration between other industry stakeholders and the public sector is critical in enabling more citizens across the continent to be connected,” says Diego Gutierrez, Vodacom Group Chief Officer: International Markets.
Through the 2Africa landing at Gqeberha, service providers will be able to obtain capacity on a fair and equitable basis, encouraging and supporting the development of a healthy internet ecosystem. Direct international connectivity can then be provided to data centres, enterprise, and wholesale customers. Once the fibre cable system has been deployed, businesses and consumers will benefit from improved quality, reliability, and lower latency for internet services, including telecommuting, high-definition video streaming and advanced multimedia and mobile video applications.
The cable system’s landing in the Eastern Cape will also offer the potential for much-needed regional job creation in sectors that rely on direct international connectivity, such as data centres, call centres and software development. This employment opportunity can help contribute to local and national socio-economic development.
The 2Africa project underpins further growth of 4G, 5G and fixed broadband access by providing improved connectivity to underserved and rural areas; and network resilience from the Eastern Cape to the rest of South Africa. As a gateway to international connectivity, the cable’s landing at Gqeberha will help to develop telecommunications networks in the Eastern Cape and surrounding provinces.
Submarine cable systems, which provide the international networks between continents and countries, form an integral part of the connectivity value chain and increase internet capacity to meet the current and future demands of growing digitalisation in Africa, while catalysing economic growth. In an RTI study, 2Africa is predicted to spur economic impact worth US$26.2 billion to US$36.9 billion, equivalent to 0.42-0.58% of Africa’s GDP, within two to three years of becoming operational.
Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) is responsible for manufacturing and deploying the 2Africa cable, due for completion in 2024. The cable system, measuring 45 000 kilometres in length with a design capacity of 180 Tbps, will interconnect Europe (eastward via Egypt), the Middle East (via Saudi Arabia) and Africa. Essentially, 2Africa will connect 19 countries in Africa and 33 countries in total. The system has four landings in South Africa and two each in Mozambique, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia and Egypt, so a total of 27 landings in Africa and 46 landings in total. Delivering more than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables serving Africa today, 2Africa will provide much-needed internet capacity and reliability across much of the Middle East, India, Pakistan and Africa, supporting the growth of 4G, 5G, and fixed broadband access for hundreds of millions of people. The 2Africa East cable system, of which the Gqeberha branch is part of, will go live by and be ready for service by the fourth quarter of 2023.
Gutierrez adds, “Vodacom Group is pleased to be working with our partners in the 2Africa project to bring faster, more reliable internet to local businesses and consumers while helping to build an inclusive digital society on the continent and around the world. The subsea cable system enables more communities to access transformative online resources, from education and healthcare to jobs and financial services, and experience seamless connectivity’s economic and social benefits.”
Further information can be found on the 2Africa website at https://www.2africacable.net/about
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by Tech Talk | Dec 12, 2022 | Articles
Emirates Telecommunications Group, also known as Etisalat, is exploring a potential investment in Vodacom Group as it seeks to boost its international footprint, people familiar with the matter said.
The Abu Dhabi carrier is studying the feasibility of an offer for part or all of Vodafone Group’s stake in Johannesburg-listed Vodacom, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
Vodafone owns roughly 60% of the company. Shares of Vodacom jumped 7.1% as of 1.38pm on Wednesday, on track for the biggest daily gain since March 2020, giving it a market value of about R248-billion. Vodafone shares pared earlier losses and were down 0.1% in London.
Etisalat is also weighing the possibility of combining some of its own African operations with Vodacom or buying Vodacom assets in specific countries, the people said. It’s in the early stages of weighing which path to pursue, and could also consider other forms of cooperation, according to the people.
Vodafone has been steadily consolidating its African interests under Vodacom, which provides telecommunications services in countries including South Africa, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Etisalat became Vodafone’s largest shareholder earlier this year and is keen to leverage this position as it plots an expansion of its own business in Africa, according to the people.
Deliberations are ongoing and there’s no certainty they’ll lead to any transactions. A spokesman for Etisalat said the group is scanning the market for opportunities in line with its strategy to grow in part through acquisitions, though there is “no such project in progress at the moment”.
Representatives for Vodafone and Vodacom declined to comment.
Etisalat disclosed in May that it had spent US$4.4-billion for a 9.8% stake in Vodafone. It announced Wednesday it had it increased its holding to 11%. The Middle Eastern company is the controlling shareholder of North African carrier Maroc Telecom, which has a market value of about $9.5 billion in Casablanca.
Telecoms companies in the Middle East have been stepping up dealmaking this year. Etisalat has been working to boost its shareholding in Saudi Arabia’s Mobily, while Qatar’s Ooredoo QPSC is working on a sale of its network towers and is also considering carving out its data centre unit. — Bloomberg LP
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by Tech Talk | Dec 6, 2022 | Articles
Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read will step down at the end of 2022 following a year when the telecommunications company’s share price sank.
Chief financial officer Margherita Della Valle will become interim CEO, in addition to her current role, while a replacement is found, the company said in a statement on Monday.
The company’s share price has sunk nearly 20% this year even after Read attempted to appease investors with asset sales and refocusing the British phone company’s business.
The company, which owns JSE-listed Vodacom Group, agreed to sell a stake in its Frankfurt-listed Vantage Towers business to a private equity consortium last month.
Read will remain an adviser to the board until the end of March, the company said. — Bloomberg LP
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