Vodacom has set its sights on becoming Africa’s top fintech operator, saying financial services business is integral to its business model, and the telco is targeting over 70 million customers in the next three years.
Vodacom revealed its Africa fintech plans today as the company released details of its half-year results performance, with group CEO Shameel Joosub saying financial services is now the largest component of Vodacom’s new services revenue, hence the desire to accelerate continental push.
The telco’s planned aggressive fintech push comes as it is evolving from a telecoms company to a technology company, while expanding its ecosystem of products, a move that allows Vodacom to diversify revenue streams.
Resultantly, Joosub says, the telco saw strong growth potential for customer adoption and is targeting 73 million financial services customers by 2024.
“This target, which supports financial inclusion, forms part of management’s long-term incentives. Over and above this, Egypt and Ethiopia, each with populations of over 100 million people, provide transformational opportunities for M-Pesa,” he says.
Vodacom and its partners
were recently awarded an operating licence in Ethiopia, and last week Vodacom announced it had agreed terms with Vodafone to take control of Vodafone Egypt for R41 billion.
Vodafone Egypt is the largest mobile wallet provider in the North African country through Vodafone Cash, according to the national telecoms regulatory authority.
In the six months to September, Vodacom’s financial services customers, including those on Safaricom, a group associate, reached 57.3 million.
The company’s financial services revenue reached R3.7 billion in the period, up 22.7% on a normalised basis.
Safaricom generated financial services revenue of R6.9 billion, up 45.8% on a normalised basis.Joosub comments: “Our M-Pesa platform, including Safaricom, processed $26.8 billion of transaction value per month in the second quarter, up 31.2%.“In South Africa, our recently launched super app, VodaPay, brings together world-class consumer and merchant capabilities and is supported by Alipay technology.“The app will offer services ranging from loans and savings, international money transfer, seamless QR and person-to-person payments, to entertainment and personalised shopping experiences.“Across our M-Pesa footprint, our super app roll-out, global partnerco-ordination and best practice sharing will be implemented by M-Pesa Africa.”Plans by Vodacom to accelerate fintech ambition on the continent comes on the back of the growing success of its payment platform, M-Pesa.M-Pesa has become a key revenue stream for both Vodacom and Safaricom.The platform processed $301.9 billion in transaction value over the last 12 months, with transaction value up 31.2% in the second […]