#47: Vodacom - How the South African Telco became one of the largest telecommunications companies in Africa

Overview:  Today we’re going to talk about Vodacom - The South African telecommunications company. We’ll explore the Vodacom story across 5 areas: South African telecoms sector context Vodacom's early history Vodacom's telco & non-telco businesses Vodacom's operating & financial performance Overall outlook This episode was recorded on Mar 13, 2022 Companies discussed: Vodacom, Vodafone, Safaricom (M-Pesa), Telkom, MTN, Airtel & Glo Business concepts discussed: Telecommunications (Telco) strategy, Mobile money, Internet connectivity, International telecommunication expansion, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO), Cell Towers spinoffs, Rain & Telco regulation Conversation highlights: (00:45) - Vodacom context (07:50) - Vodacom early history (20:50) - Vodacom International expansion (38:04) - Vodacom’s telco business (45:44) - Non-telco businesses (55:50) - VodaPay and Safaricom (M-Pesa) (1:10:12) - Vodacom - Financials & customer (1:19:15) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:29:52) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook (1:36:10) - Recommendations and small wins Olumide’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: The Truman show: I rewatched this, it's marvelous, dystopian and funny. That movie is a work of art. Recommendation: I got a satchel aka man bag aka man purse. I like it, it works because I typically have too much shit to fit in my pockets Small win: Bankole's wedding in Chennai. It was epic Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [email protected] Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or Food, please contact me for funding at [email protected] Bankole’s recommendations & small wins: Recommendation: Good Economics for Hard Times by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo & Cold Outside - Timaya and Buju Small win: I got the new Macbook M1 Pro. Beautiful, sweet machine. Other content: Governance of Telecommunications: Two Decades of Reform in South Africa & Vodacom and DHL in Africa Listeners, Operators & Investors: Email [email protected], we’d love to partner or get your feedback. Join our insider mailing list where we get feedback on new episodes & find all episodes at Afrobility.com