One word defines Richard Shai’s approach to work: learner. It’s this hunger to understand, question and improve that makes him invaluable to our human rights work.

 From quality assurance to human dignity

With more than 15 years in quality, health and safety assurance, Richard Shai didn’t start his career thinking about human rights. As Specialist Head of Department for Compliance Review and ISO Audit at Vodacom Group, his day job involves leading a team that conducts independent legal compliance reviews and ISO audits across our operations in South Africa, Lesotho, Tanzania, DRC, Mozambique and Egypt.

But when Ncumisa Willie, from Vodacom’s ESG and Sustainable Business team, asked him to contribute to our human rights programme, Richard saw the connection immediately. “Human rights are not confined to ESG frameworks,” he says. “We need to ensure that people are protected in all that we do, and their human rights not violated by products and services that we offer.”

That perspective – grounded in compliance rigour but focused on human impact – has made Richard a key voice in shaping how Vodacom embeds human rights across the business.

Building the framework, piece by piece

Vodacom’s human rights programme isn’t a stand-alone initiative. It aligns with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the OECD Guidelines and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Adopted in March 2025, the programme covers everything from freedom of expression and privacy to responsible AI, child online safety, labour rights and responsible supply chain.

Richard is part of the engine room, participating and contributing to the Human Rights Controls Review Working Group and helping to shape the Community Engagement Working Group. He’s also testing a Human Rights Impact Assessment tool on the OneTrust platform developed by Ncumisa to support local teams in managing human rights.

“Vodacom has a duty to respect human rights by acting with due diligence to prevent infringements and address adverse impacts,” Richard explains. It’s the foundation of the UN Guiding Principles’ three pillars: protect, respect and remedy.

The UN Accelerator: six months of deep learning

In 2024, Ncumisa nominated Richard to participate in the UN Global Compact Business & Human Rights Accelerator – a six-month programme designed to deepen companies’ understanding of their human rights responsibilities.

For someone whose CliftonStrengths profile is “Learner” – “I love to learn… I am inquisitive” – it was a natural fit. The programme built advanced skills in due diligence, stakeholder engagement and impact assessment.

Legislation worldwide is evolving rapidly – from national frameworks across Africa to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. As a result of our relationship with Vodafone, we must consider this legislation and need people like Richard who can translate complex legal requirements into operational reality.

The UN Accelerator: six months of deep learning

This six-month training programme is designed to help companies implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Participants learn advanced skills in:

The programme brings together businesses, civil society organisations and UN experts to share best practices and address emerging challenges. For Vodacom, participation signals our commitment to continuous learning and improvement in human rights practice.

What human rights work looks like in practice

Richard’s contributions aren’t theoretical. Simon McMahon, who worked with him on the Human Rights Controls Review, was direct: “The input Richard had was invaluable… The comments provided were always clear, understandable and actionable… I hugely appreciate the time and effort Richard put into the review and the quality of the thoughts shared.”

Ncumisa agrees: “Richard has assisted with the human rights programme out of his desire to ensure that we respect our customer rights. He is always willing to help us to tailor our responses and programmes to meet customer needs. He has been of great assistance in building our controls and provides high quality inputs and work. His contribution always adds value to all our processes and the programme.”

 

That work includes refining Vodacom’s Code of Conduct, developing market-specific controls and ensuring due diligence is genuine – not a box-ticking exercise.

“Being able to contribute to the Human Right Programme at Vodacom Group gives deeper purpose to my work,” says Richard. “Human rights are constitutional and universal rights that belong to every person by virtue of being human.”

Human rights in the digital age – new frontiers

As technology advances, so do human rights challenges. Vodacom’s human rights work increasingly focuses on:

Vodacom also partners with Stop the Traffik to disrupt human trafficking networks and operates a confidential Speak Up hotline in local languages, allowing employees and stakeholders to report grievances without fear of reprisal. These sit at the heart of Vision 2030’s first pillar: Lead with purpose.

With Vision 2030 targeting 260 million customers and 120 million financial services users by FY30, the scale of our human rights responsibility is growing. Getting it right means embedding human rights by design – in every product, service and partnership.

The challenge – and the work ahead

“Different human rights issues affect each market Vodacom operates in,” Richard says. Tailoring controls to local contexts – from labour rights in one market to freedom of expression or operating in conflict areas in others – requires constant collaboration with ESG teams, champions and stakeholders, alongside his day-to-day compliance and assurance monitoring responsibilities.

His answer is to keep learning. “Human rights work should be embedded across operations to protect people, maintain trust, enhance reputation, and reduce legal and regulatory risk,” he says.

In November 2025, he facilitated a Policy Hackathon at the 10th GRC Africa Conference, developing a governance, risk and compliance framework covering fintech regulation, digital literacy, data privacy and consumer protection – challenges Vodacom navigates in real markets every day.

Human rights aren’t a destination. They’re intentional practices that demand constant attention, collaboration and people willing to ask hard questions. For the hundreds of millions of customers Vodacom serves across eight markets, that contribution matters.