Vodacom Group, a leading telecommunication giant in South Africa, has announced a significant milestone in its financial services division. The company revealed that it processed electronic transfers worth a staggering $437.1 billion in 2024, with daily transactions surging by 19.1% to reach $1.2 billion.
This impressive transaction volume includes mobile money services provided by Safaricom, Vodacom’s sister company in Kenya. Safaricom is renowned for its M-pesa platform, which allows users in various African countries to send, receive, and store money using their mobile phones.
In a press statement issued on Monday, Vodacom highlighted its position as Africa’s largest mobile money platform by transaction value processed. The company also shared details of its trading update for the quarter ended December 2024, showcasing robust growth in key performance indicators.
Financial services revenue saw a 5.7% increase to R3.6 billion ($190.8 million), while gross revenue rose by 1.6% to R39.5 billion ($2.1 billion) in Q4 2024. Core services such as data, voice, messaging, mobile money, and broadband experienced an 11.6% growth on a normalised basis, surpassing its medium-term target. Excluding income from Safaricom, service revenue reached R3.6 billion ($190.8 million), up by 17.2% after adjusting for currency fluctuations.
Egypt and South Africa emerged as key drivers of Vodacom’s services market in the quarter under review. Egypt recorded a remarkable 44.3% increase in service revenue, generating R6.8 billion ($360.4 million) and reaching 50.7 million customers. South Africa’s market share also grew marginally by 3.2% to R16.2 billion ($858.6 million).
The company’s international business segment saw significant contributions from Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with a 7.0% growth on a normalised basis. Despite challenges in Mozambique due to post-election tensions, Vodacom’s international business customer base expanded to 58.4 million, up by 8.6%.
Vodacom attributed its strong financial performance in the last quarter to focused execution of its market strategies, supported by a R1.4 billion investment in network infrastructure. The company’s continuous growth and success in the competitive telecommunication industry underscore its position as a key player in the African market.
