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<p>Safaricom shareholders paper wealth rose by Sh90.1 billion yesterday as investors rushed to buy the company’s shares after it was awarded a license to enter Ethiopia’s market. It marks one of the largest one-day gains on a single stock in the history of the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Stellah Swakei, Investment analyst at Cytonn joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Safaricom shares hit record high on Ethiopian licence

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<p>Vodacom has reported a 3.7 per cent hike in headline earnings for the financial year ended March this year March this year and an 8.3 per cent jump in revenue. The company has seen strong growth from their prepaid and enterprise segments and financial services. They&#8217;ve also seen 7 per cent growth in service revenue in South Africa. Vodacom CEO, Shameel Joosub joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Vodacom delivers strong growth

Vodacom delivers strong growth, extends COVID-19 support initiatives

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<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>MTN has unveiled its new MTN BozzaGigs LTE product which it says gives customers exclusive pre-paid data bundles on the fastest and best network.</p>


ROOYMU

Telecom price wars: Which is the cheapest network?

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<p>Vodacom is offering its customers the ability to “get it now” or “pay for it later”.</p>


Vodacom customers can now buy fast food on credit

Vodacom customers can now buy fast food on credit, here’s how

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<p>Releasing its interim results this morning, Vodacom has reported a rise of 15.7 per cent in headline earnings per share. The company added 4.1 million customers, to serve a combined 120 million customers across the group. Vodacom declared an interim dividend of 415 cents per share up 9.2 per cent. Vodacom CEO, Shameel Joosub joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Vodacom reports 15.7% jumps in H1 earnings as pandemic boosts growth

Vodacom reports 15.7% jump in H1 earnings as pandemic boosts growth

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<p>One of the effects of the COVID-19 crisis is the decrease in visibility and brand value. Africa’s top 150 most valuable brands are set to lose up to 12 per cent of its value which is a loss of around $60 billion. Jeremy Sampson, Managing Director at Brand Finance Africa joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Here’s how much Africa’s top brands could lose in value due to COVID-19

Here’s how much Africa’s top brands could lose over COVID-19


<p>JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Vodacom Group plans to create a ‘super app’ in partnership with digital payment provider Alipay, part of China’s Alibaba group, to allow consumers in South Africa to shop online, pay bills and send money to family from next year.</p>



<p>The app will also help small to medium enterprises (SME) access financial services such as lending and insurance, the two companies said in a joint statement on Monday.</p>



<p>Vodacom and other mobile operators in South Africa are seeking to expand their mobile payment apps into online market places to leverage their network and customer base.</p>



<p>They are also looking to tap more than 11 million South Africans who do not have bank accounts, to offer lending and other financial services.</p>



<p>South Africa’s biggest mobile operator by subscribers, MTN, plans to offer a similar app, while Telkom has repurposed its almost 70-year old Yellow Pages telephone directory business into an online market place app called Yep.</p>



<p>“This partnership is a significant milestone in promoting greater financial inclusion within the communities in which we operate, accelerating our financial services aspirations across Africa,” Vodacom Group Chief Executive Shameel Joosub said in the statement.</p>



<p>The super app, much like WeChat, a platform developed by Tencent Holdings Ltd in China, will be operated by Vodacom Financial Services, with Alipay as the technology provider, the firms said in their statement.</p>



<p>Alipay is owned by Ant Financial, the financial affiliate of the Alibaba Group Holdings.</p>



<p>The partnership will be a growth opportunity for Vodacom Financial Services, which in just four years has grown from a loss-making entity into a business with more than 12 million customers and contributes 1 billion rand ($59.98 million) in profit to the Vodacom Group, the mobile operator said.</p>



<p>The app will also allow consumers to stream music and follow news.</p>



<p>($1 = 16.6722 rand)</p>


vpjjggg

Vodacom partners with China’s Alipay to create ‘super app’ in South Africa

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<p>Telecommunications group Vodacom has announced a partnership with ANT Group that is set to be revolutionising the South African payments and lifestyle landscape. Joining CNBC Africa for more is Shameel Joosub, CEO of Vodacom Group.</p>


Vodacom CEO speaks on partnership with China’s Alipay

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<p>Stephen Meintjes, Head of Research at Momentum Securities says that his top stock picks amid the Covid-19 crisis is Naspers and Prosus, exception stocks such as Afrimat and Raubex and the Telco’s sector big players Vodacom and MTN as there was an increase in demand for online and data consumption during lockdown.</p>


Why this analyst is picking these JSE stocks to weather the COVID-19 storm


<p>JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African mobile operator Vodacom Group reported a 8.9% rise in annual earnings on Monday, buoyed by an improved second half performance in its domestic market and the sustained growth of its international businesses.</p>



<p>Headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the full-year ended March rose to 945 cents from 868 cents a year earlier.</p>



<p>HEPS is the main profit measure in South Africa and strips out certain one-off items.</p>



<p>Vodacom, which is majority owned by Vodafone, declared a final dividend of 405 cents per share.</p>



<p>(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Kim Coghill)</p>



<p>This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN22N0U0-OZABS">https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN22N0U0-OZABS</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>


Administrators propose sales plan for SA retailer Edcon, see potential job cuts

South Africa’s Vodacom reports 8.9% jump in full-year earnings

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<p>South Africa’s largest telecoms operator, Vodacom is spending half a billion rand to improve its network capacity over the next two months. This follows a spike in data traffic since the 21 day lockdown, which has now been extended to the end of April. For more the detail on expected returns from this investment, CNBC Africa spoke to Andries Delport, Chief Technology Officer at the Vodacom Group.</p>


Vodacom to spend R500mn on network upgrades


<p>NAIROBI (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s top telecoms operator Safaricom has seen a 70% surge in data usage as people stay at home to <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/east-africa/2020/04/08/how-african-economies-can-survive-the-covid-19-crisis/">curb the spread of the new coronavirus</a>, it said on Tuesday.</p>



<p>The government closed schools and asked people to work from home where possible last month, after the East African nation reported its first case of the virus.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/04/14/how-kenya-plans-to-help-its-informal-sector-survive-the-covid-19-crisis/">Confirmed cases have risen to 208</a> and additional restrictions, including a night time curfew, have been imposed.</p>



<p>Safaricom, which is partly owned by South Africa’s Vodacom and Britain’s Vodafone, said mobile phone data usage had jumped 35% as users streamed movies, worked from home and used social media sites like Facebook.</p>



<p>The company is one of the biggest providers of internet access in Kenya, supplying 300,000 homes with a fibre connection, and nearly all of the 47 million population with second, third and fourth generation mobile internet coverage.</p>



<p>Along with financial services platform M-Pesa, the data business has been one of the key drivers of earnings growth for Safaricom in recent years.</p>



<p>(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Jon Boyle and Mark Potter)</p>



<p>This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKCN21W1NH-OZABS">https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKCN21W1NH-OZABS</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>



<p>For more coverage on COVID-19 visit: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a></p>


Here’s how to apply for SA’s COVID-19 loan guarantee scheme

Kenya’s Safaricom sees 70% jump in data usage during COVID-19 lockdown

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<p>Safaricom and Vodacom recently announced the completion of the acquisition of the M-pesa brand as well as product development and support services from Vodafone through a newly created joint venture.  This move is expected to accelerate M-pesa&#8217;s growth in Africa. Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Safaricom Chief Officer for Financial Services joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Safaricom

Safaricom, Vodacom partner to grow M-pesa across Africa


<p>JOHANNESBURG, April 1 (Reuters) – South African insurance
company Discovery and mobile operator Vodacom
are teaming up to offer a free, online doctor consultation
service to all South Africans with coronavirus-related concerns.</p>



<p>Discovery had already set up an online service for its own
customers but had put it on ice due to a regulatory hold-up. Now
it will be open for anyone.</p>



<p>The 20 million rand ($1.11 million) cost of the first
100,000 consultations will be split between the two companies.
Doctors sign up to the service voluntarily, with more than 5,000
registered so far.</p>



<p>Vodacom will also provide free access to the platform via
mobile data, but only with a Vodacom sim card, meaning users
will have to already be a customer or sign up to Vodacom to
access the service.</p>



<p>Discovery CEO Adrian Gore said there was no financial
benefit to the insurer from the partnership, and it would not
receive a share in any revenues Vodacom earned from new
customers.</p>



<p>He added that sources of funding would have to be explored
if the number of consultations went above 100,000.</p>



<p>Gore also told Reuters that the company was modelling the
potential impact the coronavirus will have on claims, with its
businesses in South Africa and Britain a focus.</p>



<p>“COVID claims are certainly going to go up and we’re
modelling that, but the cost of other health events are going
down quite dramatically, people are not going for elective
surgery, so there’s a bit of a counter balance,” he said.</p>



<p>There was also a much higher risk of mortality claims too, he continued, adding the insurer was “preparing carefully” for this outcome. ($1 = 17.9594 rand)</p>



<p>(Reporting by Emma Rumney, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Jane Merriman)</p>



<p>This article was first published on Reuters <a href="https://www.sharenet.co.za/views/views-article.php?views-article=391182">https://www.sharenet.co.za/views/views-article.php?views-article=391182</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>



<p>For more coverage on COVID-19 visit: <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/">https://www.cnbcafrica.com/covid-19/</a></p>


Discovery, Vodacom set up online COVID-19 consultation service


<p>JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; The chairman of Vodacom Group, Jabu Moleketi, will step down from the board and retire on July 21, the South African telecoms firm said on Friday. </p>



<p>Saki Macozoma, who is now lead independent non-executive director, will take over from Moleketi from July 22, Vodacom said in a statement. He was appointed to the board in 2017. </p>



<p>Moleketi, 62, a former deputy finance minister, was appointed to the Vodacom Group board in 2009 and appointed chairman in 2017, replacing Peter Moyo. </p>



<p>He is chairman of investment firm Brait SE and cement firm PPC and has served on several boards, including the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Remgro and Nedbank Group. </p>



<p>Macozoma’s lead independent non-executive director role will be taken up by David Brown, the company said. </p>



<p>(Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by Mark Potter)</p>



<p>This article was first published on Reuters Africa <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN21E0YK-OZABS">https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFKBN21E0YK-OZABS</a> and is republished with its permission.</p>


Vodacom chairman to retire in July

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South African mobile users have been campaigning that data must fall for almost four years now and finally the competition commission has taken action. Vodacom will be cutting data prices by over 30 per cent saving consumers a total of R2.7 billion but what about the billions Vodacom has been making in the past? CNBC Africa&#8217;s Karabo Letlhatlha spoke to Competition Commissioner, Tembinkosi Bonakele for more.</p>


Did Vodacom get away with a slap on the wrist on data prices

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CNBC Africa’s Karabo Letlhatlha spoke with Vodacom CEO, Shameel Joosub for more.</p>


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South Africa’s Vodacom reports 8.9% jump in full-year earnings

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Kenya’s Safaricom sees 70% jump in data usage during COVID-19 lockdown

Safaricom, Vodacom partner to grow M-pesa across Africa

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Vodacom chairman to retire in July

Did Vodacom get away with a slap on the wrist on data prices

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Vodacom

Safaricom shares hit record high on Ethiopian licence

Vodacom delivers strong growth, extends COVID-19 support initiatives

Telecom price wars: Which is the cheapest network?

Vodacom customers can now buy fast food on credit, here’s how

Vodacom reports 15.7% jump in H1 earnings as pandemic boosts growth

Here’s how much Africa’s top brands could lose over COVID-19

Vodacom partners with China’s Alipay to create ‘super app’ in South Africa

Vodacom CEO speaks on partnership with China’s Alipay

Why this analyst is picking these JSE stocks to weather the COVID-19 storm

South Africa’s Vodacom reports 8.9% jump in full-year earnings

Vodacom to spend R500mn on network upgrades

Kenya’s Safaricom sees 70% jump in data usage during COVID-19 lockdown

Safaricom, Vodacom partner to grow M-pesa across Africa

Discovery, Vodacom set up online COVID-19 consultation service

Vodacom chairman to retire in July

Did Vodacom get away with a slap on the wrist on data prices

Vodacom CEO on the decision to slash data prices

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