When world leaders gather to chart the course of the global economy, Vodacom isn’t watching from the sidelines – we’re right there in the room where it happens. As co-chair of the B20 South Africa Digital Transformation Task Force, we are helping to draft the policy recommendations that will shape how billions of people access, use and benefit from digital technology.

This isn’t just participation. It’s leadership at the highest level of global economic dialogue, positioning Vodacom – and by extension, Africa – as a critical voice in determining the digital future of our interconnected world.

Where decisions get made

The Business 20 (B20), the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community, brings together chief executives and industry leaders to develop actionable policy recommendations for the world’s largest economies. These are concrete proposals that influence government policy, international trade agreements, and billions of dollars in infrastructure investment.

Shameel Joosub, Vodacom Group CEO, serves as co-chair of the Digital Transformation Task Force, a role that places Vodacom at the epicentre of conversations shaping how digital transformation will unfold globally. It’s a seat at the table where real decisions are made, where Africa’s needs are a central consideration rather than an afterthought.

“Embedded in Vodacom Group’s DNA is our purpose of connecting for a better future through empowering people and protecting the planet,” says Shameel. “For me, a digitally transformed society is one where connectivity is a right, not a privilege.”

Promoting digital transformation for all

Through the B20 Digital Transformation Task Force, Vodacom is championing an approach to digital transformation that puts inclusion first. The Task Force has developed four core recommendations for the G20, each one in line with our commitment to closing the digital divide and ensuring that technology serves everyone, not just the privileged few.

These recommendations call on the G20 to:

  • Expand inclusive infrastructure through investment in high-speed internet, affordable devices and mobile access, particularly in rural and underserved communities
  • Build a digitally literate workforce by embedding digital and AI education into national strategies
  • Establish ethical AI governance grounded in transparency, fairness and accountability
  • Strengthen digital public infrastructure (DPI) to enable identity, inclusion and innovation, especially for small and medium enterprises.

From policy to practice

Our influence on the B20 is backed by concrete action. Over the past five years, we’ve invested R60 billion in network infrastructure in South Africa, and we’re set to invest another R60 billion over the next five years to broaden coverage and connect even more people, with a specific focus on underserved rural communities.

“Connectivity is the lifeline of the digital economy,” says Sitho Mdlalose, CEO of Vodacom South Africa. This massive infrastructure investment demonstrates that we aren’t simply advocating for digital inclusion from a policy perspective – we’re putting capital behind the vision, building the networks that will enable communities to participate in the digital era and unlock economic opportunities.

This alignment between advocacy and action gives our voice at the B20 credibility. When we recommend expanding digital infrastructure to the G20, it’s based on real-world experience deploying networks across some of the world’s most challenging environments.

Public-private partnership as the path forward

A central theme in Vodacom’s B20 advocacy is the critical importance of public-private partnerships in achieving digital transformation at scale. Shameel emphasises that collaboration between governments and private companies is essential for co-designing rural networks, advancing digital education and enabling e-government platforms.

This is about bringing together the expertise, innovation and resources of companies and governments to achieve outcomes neither could accomplish alone.

Our engagement with the South African government exemplifies this approach. Through strategic collaborations with key government stakeholders, including the Presidency and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), we are working to align corporate investment with government priorities around digitisation and financial inclusion.

These partnerships move beyond transactional relationships towards genuine co-creation, where policy frameworks and private sector innovation reinforce each other to accelerate progress.

Advocacy for Africa’s digital future

Perhaps most importantly, our role in the B20 ensures that Africa’s voice is heard in global digital policy discussions. For too long, technology policy has been shaped primarily by and for developed markets, with emerging economies expected to adapt frameworks designed elsewhere.

Vodacom is helping to change that dynamic. By bringing insights from serving over 211 million customers across Africa, we ensure that policy recommendations reflect the realities, challenges and opportunities of emerging markets.

The Task Force focuses on three key priorities: making connectivity a right rather than a privilege, building ethical AI governance from the ground up rather than retrofitting it later, and creating DPI that serves small businesses and marginalised groups. Each one reflects lessons from Vodacom’s work across Africa.

Further together on the global stage

Digital transformation at the scale needed to truly change lives requires collaboration – between public and private sectors, between developed and emerging markets, between technology providers and the communities we serve.

By positioning ourselves at the centre of global digital policy conversations, Vodacom is helping to shape the future. We are ensuring that future works for Africa, for small businesses, for rural communities, for everyone who’s been left behind by previous waves of technological change.

When the G20 leaders sit down to discuss digital transformation, Vodacom has already helped write the agenda. That’s what real purpose looks like.