Vodacom lifts Vision 2030 targets after doubling customer growth pace

Vodacom Group has more than doubled its customer growth target after a surge in new users pushed its subscriber base sharply higher, underscoring strong demand for digital services across Africa.

The telecoms operator added 26-million customers in the year to March 2026 — well above its annual Vision 2030 target of 10 million — lifting its total customer base to 237.3- million across eight markets. Outside South Africa, Vodacom operates in Mozambique, Lesotho, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Egypt and through Safaricom also has a presence in Kenya and Ethiopia.

The outperformance, during the year to March 2026, has prompted Vodacom to raise its long-term ambition to 275-million customers by 2030, reflecting confidence that its markets remain far from saturated and that growth opportunities in connectivity and fintech remain significant.

CEO Shameel Joosub said the accelerated growth had given the group confidence to raise its ambitions.

“We significantly exceeded our customer growth targets this year, which reinforces our belief in the long-term potential of our markets and supports our decision to lift our Vision 2030 ambitions,” he said.

Joosub said the stronger growth trajectory highlighted both the resilience of demand and the benefits of the group’s diversification across geographies and services.

The revised targets form a key part of Vodacom’s Vision 2030 strategy, which aims to expand connectivity while scaling financial services and digital offerings.

Joosub said the group’s expanding customer base was central to its broader strategy.

“Our focus is not only on growing our customer numbers, but on deepening engagement through data, digital services and financial inclusion across all our markets,” he said.

Financial services is a major focus area within the updated strategy. Vodacom increased its financial services customer base by 17.4% to 103 million, supported by growth in payments, savings, insurance, lending and merchant services. In line with this momentum, the group has also lifted its Vision 2030 target for financial services customers to 130-million, up from 120-million previously.

“Financial services continues to be a key driver of our purpose-led strategy, enabling us to broaden access to formal financial systems while unlocking new revenue streams,” Joosub said.

Operationally, the group delivered solid growth across most markets, with strong contributions from Egypt, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Lesotho, while South Africa remained resilient despite a tougher consumer environment. This geographic diversification helped drive a 10.6% increase in service revenue to R133.6bn.

Vodacom said its scale advantage is increasingly translating into both commercial and social impact, as rising smartphone penetration and improved network coverage support broader access to digital services. The company added 18.8-million smartphones during the year, pushing smartphone penetration to 68.6% across the group.

Vodacom signalled that its Vision 2030 ambitions could be revised further as it expands its footprint and portfolio.

“We remain confident that there is substantial runway for growth, and we will continue to scale our platforms to capture this opportunity in a disciplined manner,” Joosub said.

The revised customer targets highlight Vodacom’s confidence in sustained subscriber growth and its strategy to deepen digital inclusion, positioning the group for continued expansion in telecoms and financial services across the continent.

TimesLIVE