Vodacom, a pan-African technology group, is now generating growth beyond its South African home market, with Egypt, Kenya and other international markets outpacing its more mature domestic business.
The acquisition of a controlling stake in Safaricom, East Africa’s biggest telco, brings M-Pesa, Safaricom’s mobile money platform, and its vast financial services ecosystem into the group, strengthening Vodacom’s ambition to evolve beyond traditional mobile connectivity.
Vodacom reported revenue of R102.5 billion ($6.2 billion) for the six months ended 30 September 2026, a 25.6% year-on-year increase, boosted partly by the consolidation of Safaricom, according to its interim financial results on Tuesday
The results reveal a relatively mature South Africa, where growth is harder to extract, and faster-expanding markets where mobile connectivity and financial services are opening new revenue opportunities.
Egypt delivered 36.3% service revenue growth in local currency, while Safaricom grew service revenue by 13.1%. Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Lesotho also recorded strong performances. Vodacom’s international business achieved normalised service revenue growth of 13.7%, with Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increasing 15.9%.
In South Africa, Vodacom returned its prepaid business to growth, supported by higher data consumption, while cost optimisation lifted its EBITDA margin to 37.4%, its highest level in several years.
