Shameel Joosub-led Vodacom bets big on contracts beyond mobile

Key Points

• Vodacom’s revenue rises 1.1% to R152.2 billion, driven by 11.2% growth in normalized service revenue and digital financial services. 
• Handset financing expands aggressively, targeting 80 million prepaid users but raising consumer credit risk concerns. 
• CEO Shameel Joosub bets on digital finance and fintech to drive double-digit EBITDA growth through 2030.

Vodacom Group, led by South African executive Shameel Joosub, is signaling a strategic shift from a conventional mobile operator to a diversified digital and financial services powerhouse. The company’s results for the year ending March 31, 2025, underscore a business in transformation, yet also raise questions about financial transparency and consumer risk.

Financial services drive growth amid modest revenue gains

Vodacom’s revenue edged up 1.1 percent to R152.2 billion ($8.5 billion), with service revenue down 0.1 percent reported but rising 11.2 percent on a normalized basis, underscoring currency impact on results. 

CEO Joosub highlighted financial and digital services as key growth drivers, contributing R11.2 billion ($627 million), nearly 18 percent of South African service revenue. Financial services soared 17.6 percent normalized, now 11.6 percent of total service revenue, up from 10.5 percent. 

Egypt led growth with an 80.1 percent surge in financial services revenue, while M-Pesa’s international business rose 11.4 percent. South Africa’s data traffic jumped 36.4 percent, boosting prepaid data revenue by 12 percent and Vodacom Business’s cloud, hosting, and security services by 35.6 percent.

Aggressive handset financing signals shift in risk profile

Vodacom is accelerating handset financing, particularly targeting prepaid customers—a demographic typically excluded from device subsidy schemes. The operator secured a R3.75 billion ($210 million) financing arrangement in 2024 to support this initiative, aiming to onboard an estimated 80 million non-smartphone users across its footprint. 

This aggressive pivot into handset financing distinguishes Vodacom from peers like MTN South Africa, which generated R9.4 million ($0.53 million) in device revenue and is experimenting with smartphone financing models, and Cell C, whose device revenues are less transparent. 

While handset financing expands Vodacom’s market, it also transfers financial risk onto consumers through longer debt terms and potential credit consequences. The company’s ability to balance growth ambitions with consumer protection remains a key challenge.

Betting on digital finance to cement future growth

Vodacom is positioning itself as a technology company with digital finance at the core of its future growth strategy. The firm’s updated medium-term guidance forecasts double-digit EBITDA growth through 2030, propelled by strategic bets in Egypt and fintech. 

With over 210 million subscribers across Africa, Vodacom leverages scale to diversify revenue sources beyond traditional mobile services. However, the gap between reported and normalised earnings invites scrutiny from investors wary of creative accounting. 

Shameel Joosub, who owns a 0.09 percent stake valued at over $14 million, remains bullish on digital infrastructure investments, underscoring a company evolving beyond mobile connectivity toward a hybrid telecom-financial enterprise—one whose true health lies between its dual sets of numbers.