The company announced that Vodacom Group has reported significant growth in its financial services sector, with Vodafone Egypt’s financial services revenue surging by 77.7%.
The telecom giant highlighted strong commercial momentum in Egypt, where financial services customers grew by 40.7% to 10.5 million, alongside a 25.6% increase in data traffic. Egypt’s contribution to Vodacom’s overall performance has also expanded, with service revenue reaching R6.8 billion, accounting for 22.3% of the Group’s total. The quarter closed with 50.7 million customers in Egypt, marking a 6.2% rise.
Vodacom’s push into fintech continues to gain traction across Africa. The company revealed that its mobile money platforms, including Safaricom’s M-PESA, processed transactions worth $437.7 billion last year—reflecting a 19.1% increase.
Updating investors on its performance for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub described financial services as the company’s “golden goose.”
“Group financial services revenue was $190 million (R3.6bn) in the quarter, up 5.7% (17.2%), reflecting good growth across our segments,” Joosub stated. “In South Africa, financial services growth was supported by our insurance business, while in our International segment, normalised M-PESA revenue grew by 10.2%, driven by strong performances in Tanzania and Lesotho.”
Joosub emphasized the company’s commitment to financial inclusion, citing the expansion of advanced financial services such as loans, savings, international money transfers, insurance, and merchant services.
“In the International business segment, these advanced services contributed 44% of M-PESA revenue in the quarter. In Egypt, financial services revenue rose by 77.7%* in local currency, driven by strong customer growth,” he noted.
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Vodacom’s fintech strategy is centered on a dual-sided ecosystem, connecting consumers and merchants through personalized experiences in entertainment, e-commerce, payments, and financial services. The company’s super-apps—VodaPay, Vodafone Cash, and M-PESA—play a key role in integrating its offerings with third-party partners.
Vodacom is also expanding its agent network to facilitate core mobile financial services, such as cash-in and cash-out transactions. The company reported a 35.1% increase in its agent network across the International business, reaching 454,000 agents. Meanwhile, its merchant base grew substantially, with active merchants in South Africa rising to 11,280 and an overall 38.2% increase across its International business to 470,000 merchants.
“Our focus on scaling advanced financial services, such as invoice financing and overdrafts, is deepening financial inclusion and expanding our addressable commission pool beyond peer-to-peer payments and withdrawals,” Joosub concluded.
