Reinventing telecommunications through intuitive innovation and creative investment
The leading player in South Africa’s telecommunications industry, Vodacom is pioneering change through intuitive innovation and creative investment
Shrouded by a tense political environment and regulatory constraints during much of the late 20th century, South Africa was somewhat late to the global telecommunications revolution.
Today, however, the country stands as one of the world’s most promising and exciting telecommunications sectors, renowned as the most evolved such market on the entire continent.
Since competition was introduced in the 1990s, the country’s vibrant mobile market has experienced rapid growth, with market penetration standing at close to 100 percent with 47.3 million subscribers by 2010. Further, in the nine years since it is estimated that this number has almost doubled.
From fixed-line expansion to mobile banking to international fibre connectivity, this revolution has covered all aspects of the industry, an industry that Vodacom South Africa has remained at the forefront of.
“Vodacom was launched at the same time as the birth of South Africa’s democracy in 1994,” explains Jorge Mendes, the company’s Chief Officer of Consumer Business Unit. “It’s been an ever changing journey for our company in the years since, and we now serve 43 million people across South Africa, selling around 25,000 handsets monthly.”
A company that holds almost half of the country’s entire market share, Vodacom SA has become celebrated as a leading pioneer of innovative telecommunication solutions.
Having initially started out as a firm that provided mobile phones and associated services, the company’s expertise now spans a wide range of segments including financial services, on demand video and traditional voice and data services.
“We proudly introduced prepaid to the world, the first 3G and 4G networks in South Africa, and the first 5G offering in Africa through Vodacom Lesotho,” Mendes explains. “We continue to invest heavily in infrastructure so that we are able to effectively maintain our network advantage and deliver exceptional customer experience.”
Driven by an all-encompassing ethos of innovation and customer care, Vodacom South Africa has excelled in the past decades, now providing the widest population coverage and distribution footprint across the country.
“Since I joined Vodacom 20 years ago, the absolute constant has been the company’s commitment to always putting the customer at the heart of everything,” Mendes continues. “Ultimately, we want to be a leading digital company that empowers a connected society and lead the charge from an innovation perspective.”
Embracing innovation
These philosophies are largely powered by the company’s esteemed team, with Vodacom having emphasised talent management as a crucial factor behind its ever-growing success.
“Certified as a Top Employer for Africa 2019 by the Top Employers Institute, our talent management