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Stakeholder engagement

Our approach to stakeholder engagement

Vodacom’s ability to create sustainable value depends on quality engagements with our stakeholders based on mutual trust, respect and transparency. We aim to build, maintain and strengthen these relationships by understanding and addressing a range of social, economic and environment-related issues to align stakeholders with our purpose-led journey.

Below we provide a summary of why and how we engage with various stakeholder groups as well as their material interests and expectations.

Customers

Why we engage

Our customers purchase our products and services, participate on our platforms and provide the primary source of our revenue.

How we engage

Basis of assessment: net promoter score (NPS)

  • Through customer immersions, focus groups, online panels, face-to-face interactions and digital channels, including unstructured supplementary service data, apps and SMS.
  • At our retail stores and service centres, including dedicated support for persons with disabilities.
  • Gathering NPS feedback through interviews and focus groups.
  • Interactions on our social media channels
  • Personalised propositions, direct marketing messaging and feedback.
  • Aspirational and inclusive brand communication.
  • Complaints management system.
Material stakeholder interests and expectations
  • Providing quality connectivity services and platforms to support digital inclusion, which are easily accessible and affordable.
  • Providing relevant financial services, including savings and loan products, to improve financial inclusion.
  • Empowering our employees and agents to provide exceptional customer service by embedding a customer-led culture.
  • Rewarding customer loyalty.
  • Securing data and protecting personal information.
  • Removing pain points, providing good customer service and resolving service-related issues promptly.

Communities

Why we engage

We extend our purpose of creating a better future for all beyond our customers and into the communities in which we operate. We aim to be a responsible business and understand the impact of our activities on these communities. We build our brand and reputation by focusing on initiatives spanning agriculture, education, climate, healthcare, safety and wildlife.

How we engage

Basis of assessment: Kantar stakeholder assessment.

  • Sustainability and Vodacom Foundation partnerships.
  • Our Tech for Good platforms in agriculture and healthcare.
  • Ecosystem approach to education, including support for school leadership, connecting public education institutions to the internet, early childhood development centre programmes, digital skills development, learning material and e-learning platforms.
  • Community crisis support, such as disaster relief and food security support.
  • Partnerships with NPOs across numerous aspects of community upliftment.
  • Gender-based violence prevention, response and empowerment tools.
Material stakeholder interests and expectations
  • Addressing socioeconomic inequalities.
  • Managing and reducing our environmental footprint.
  • Supporting gender empowerment.
  • Providing affordable access to educational resources.
  • Zero-rated access to government, employment and empowerment solutions through ConnectU.

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Employees

Why we engage

Our employees execute our strategy with their skills, experience and productivity.

How we engage

Basis of assessment: Employee engagement index

  • Training and development programmes that enable a learning culture, such as #1MoreSkill, Skills labs, RPA and Big Data citizen developer programme, LEAP, Women in Leadership and IGNITE.
  • Grow my Impact performance programme.
  • Internal communication campaigns.
  • Big Conversation moments and fireside chats.
  • Spirit of Vodacom-themed days and events.
  • Internal website and Vodacom Engage app.
  • A dedicated employee hotline and employee network forums.
  • Our Group-wide C.A.R.E. policy framework for employee well-being.
  • Leadership roadshows.
  • Spirit Beat and pulse surveys.
  • Connect sessions across our markets.
Material stakeholder interests and expectations
  • Providing a positive and inclusive culture with increased opportunities to thrive.
  • Ensuring job security and business sustainability.
  • Fostering strong and inclusive leadership.
  • Developing individual career paths and talent.
  • Creating learning opportunities that focus on the acceleration of digital and future skills transformation.
  • Hosting connect sessions for coaching and mentoring.
  • Facilitating communication and knowledge sharing across Vodacom.
  • Providing competitive remuneration and equal pay.
  • Driving transformation and localisation.
  • Supporting gender empowerment.

Investors and analysts

Why we engage

Our investors provide the financial capital we need for long-term growth and expect attractive returns based on sustainable and ethical business practices. Analysts provide investors with research, insights, and recommendations regarding investment opportunities in financial markets, playing an important role in communicating critical information.

How we engage

Basis of assessment: Investor relations survey.

  • In-person and virtual meetings, roadshows and conferences.
  • In-person investor trip to Ethiopia.
  • Chairman’s roadshow.
  • Interim and annual results announcements and reports.
  • Quarterly trading updates.
  • Stock Exchange News Services announcements.
  • Monthly and quarterly reviews with Vodafone.
  • Investor relations page on our website.
  • Notice of annual general meeting.
  • Integrated report.
Material stakeholder interests and expectations.
  • Maintaining first-class strategic execution, given the acceleration in Vodacom’s strategy.
  • Aligning the strategy with capital structure and returns.
  • Balancing enhanced growth prospects with an updated dividend policy.
  • Engaging on executive remuneration.
  • Driving societal and enterprise value creation.
  • Revenue diversification that supports earnings growth.
  • Managing and mitigating risk.

Government and regulators

Why we engage

Governments and regulators allocate spectrum and operating licences and impose regulatory measures with cost implications for the Group. We engage with these stakeholders in a way that builds trust and ethically influences policy positions across government departments.

How we engage

Basis of assessment: Reptrak survey.

  • Supporting governmental digitalisation through our Tech for Good platforms.
  • Meetings and briefings with presidents and their delegates.
  • Submitting reports on a quarterly basis to ministers when appropriate.
  • Engaging with ministers and regulators on our spectrum policy and regulatory matters.
  • Participating in public forums.
  • Taking part in the drafting process of new regulations and bills.
  • Having discussions with industry consultative bodies.
  • Partnering to implement social programmes.
  • Engaging with international bodies to foster cooperation.
  • Hosting workshops to enhance understanding of the industry.
  • Delivering on our Social Contract.
  • Engaging with ministers and key government personnel on government priorities and societal matters.
Material stakeholder interests and expectations.
  • Complying with regulatory requirements relating to, among others, mobile termination rates, pricing, security, safety, health and environmental performance.
  • Protecting personal information and customer data in line with regulatory requirements.
  • Contributing to the tax base and other revenue streams of governments in our operating countries.
  • Managing the supply of spectrum to satisfy increases in demand.
  • Partnering to achieve the objectives of the UN SDGs.
  • Expanding 5G and 4G across our markets in Africa.
  • Maintaining and enhancing our licence to operate across our footprint.
  • Creating employment opportunities and facilitating socioeconomic development.
  • Zero-rated access to key government services.

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Suppliers

Why we engage

We rely on our suppliers to provide cost-effective, quality products and services that support our value proposition to customers, employees and other stakeholders.

How we engage

Basis of assessment: Kantar stakeholder assessment.

  • Supplier development programmes.
  • Supplier forums and portals.
  • Regular site visits.
  • Tenders.
  • Supplier audits and assessments.
  • Supplier product evolution and service levels.
  • Latest supplier developments and roadmaps consisting of improvements in requests for proposals, requests for expression of interest and requests for quotations.
  • Early payments for small suppliers.
Material stakeholder interests and expectations.
  • Providing growth opportunities and access to funding for SMEs.
  • Ensuring timely payments of accounts to enhance supplier cash flow and liquidity.
  • Addressing health and safety concerns.
  • Promoting environmental solutions.
  • Driving supplier and product innovation.
  • In South Africa, complying with B-BBEE requirements, including preferential payment terms for B-BBEE suppliers.
  • Promoting local and female-owned suppliers.

Media

Why we engage

We engage to manage our brand and reputation while increasing customer product and service awareness.

How we engage

Basis of assessment: Kantar stakeholder assessment.

  • In-person, virtually or through telephonic engagements.
  • CEO and key executive interviews and other speaking engagements.
  • Round-table discussions.
  • Through product and service launches.
  • Media press releases.
  • Strategic social media content.
  • Thought leadership articles.
  • Engaging with government departments and non-governmental organisations.
Material stakeholder interests and expectations.
  • Engaging with brand ambassadors.
  • Providing timely and transparent access to key information, activities and offerings.
  • Ensuring transparency around Group performance.

Strategic and business partners

Why we engage

Our business partners - franchisees, retailers, wholesalers, freelancers, agents, merchants, aggregators, hyperscalers and banks – are custodians of our reputation and are a critical extension of our brand.

How we engage

Basis of assessment: Kantar stakeholder assessment.

  • Regular interaction and collaboration sessions with regional trade representatives.
  • One-on-one business sessions.
  • Regular training sessions and roadshows on products and services.
  • Agent outlets, stores and retail visits.
  • Long-term sustainable partnerships with channels.
  • Credit support to enterprises.
  • Regular operational and executive sessions, with strong governance in place.
  • Strategic partnership meetings with international technology partners and over-the-top players.
Material stakeholder interests and expectations.
  • Providing overdraft and loan facilities for agents to manage cash flow.
  • Ensuring widespread agent network and float availability.
  • Driving engagement and feedback between management and key trade partners.
  • Making it quicker and easier to work with M-Pesa across our markets through our strategic hub, M-Pesa Africa.
  • Coordinated Group approach with global over-the-top and hyperscalers.
  • Support digital transformation through cloud and infrastructure deals, device affordability initiatives as well as building AI use cases.

As part of stakeholder engagement Vodacom interacts with various business forums and industry bodies. We also contribute towards democracy. Click here to read more.