Vodacom Group celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, marking a trailblazing journey in the telecommunications industry with numerous milestones achieved along the way. We reflect on these accomplishments with immense pride and are inspired to look forward, continuing our journey of going Further Together.

1993

Vodacom (a name that derives from a short form of Voice and Data Communication), was founded in South Africa in 1993 as a joint venture between Telkom (50%), Vodafone (35%) and VenFin (15%). With mighty ambitions and a drive to excel, our first television advertisement featured an idyllic blue sky and white clouds advertising airtime, a novel concept for South Africans.

1994

We officially switch on our network with the launch of commercial mobile voice services.

  • 10 000 customers were connected on the first day
  • 50 000 in four weeks
  • 100 000 in five months.

1995

In a big year for Vodacom, we are awarded the licence to operate in Lesotho, and sponsor the Springboks, South Africa’s national rugby team, who go on to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

1996

We erect the first mast disguised as a palm tree, in Durbanville in the Western Cape. We also launch Vodago, our Prepaid service, connecting 60 000 customers in the first month.

1997

As early adopters of sustainability principles, we publicly commit to an environmental policy.

1998

We open the world’s first cellular telephone mall, Vodaworld, now Vodacom World, and launch Prepaid Internet, another world first.

1999

We launch in Tanzania, becoming the country’s largest mobile network provider in 2001, covering Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in the world to be covered by a GSM network.

2000

The Vodacom network reaches three million customers.

2001

Our customer base continues to grow rapidly, reaching five million in 2001, 10 million in 2004 and 20 million in 2006.

2002

Vodacom launches in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

2003

We launch in Mozambique.

2004

Vodacom introduces 3G in South Africa, providing increased data transmission speeds. In the same year, we surpass the 10 million customer mark.

2006

Our 3G High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) network launches in South Africa, while Vodafone increases its shareholding to 50%.

2008

In another busy year, we launch Vodacom Business at an event in Sun City and Telkom sells a 15% share of its holding in Vodacom.

2009

We list on the South African stock exchange, the JSE, while Vodafone increases its shareholding to 65%.

2011

With the 65% shareholding in the bag, it was only a matter of time before we had a facelift. In 2011 we officially rebrand, changing our logo colour from blue to red in a massive marketing campaign.

2012

In keeping with our ambition to be first, we pioneer 4G (LTE) in South Africa in 2012.

2015

We reach 65 million active customers.

2017

Vodacom Group acquires 35% of Safaricom in Kenya.

2018

The Vodacom Group subscriber base reaches 100 million.

A first in Africa, we launch commercial 5G in Lesotho in 2018.

2020

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we donate 20 000 smartphones, 100 terabytes of data and 10 million voice call minutes to South Africa’s National Department of Health, as well as making educational material freely available through Vodacom eSchool for high-school and tertiary students.

We sign a landmark agreement with Alipay to drive digital and financial inclusion.

2021

We launch the VodaPay super app in South Africa as well as the M-Pesa super app.

Vodacom launches in Ethiopia.

We acquire Vodafone Egypt, taking our operations from Cape to Cairo.

2022

Continuing on our journey to connect across Africa, Safaricom Ethiopia switches on its network.

2023

Vodacom Mozambique celebrate their 20th birthday. Feliz aniversário to our brothers and sisters!

M-Pesa launches in Ethiopia.

Vodacom launches Mast (formerly TowerCo), a wholly-owned subsidiary, to run the company’s South African tower business.

2024

Vodacom Group’s subscriber base surpasses 200 million for the first time.

… Here’s to the next 30 years!