Vodacom Group has established a Foundation to consolidate and strengthen its impact on the continent.
The Vodacom Foundation, which brings together the eight Foundations across its footprint under one umbrella, has appointed a seven-member Board chaired by renowned economist Dr Vera Songwe as it accelerates its pan-African strategy aimed at positively impacting 50-million lives by 2030.
Bringing together expertise spanning economic development, public policy, technology, sustainability, governance and social impact, the new Board will help guide the Foundation’s shift towards scalable, digitally enabled programmes across connected health, connected education and digital skilling.
Dr Vera Songwe, chairperson of the Vodacom Foundation Board, comments: “Africa has a unique opportunity to harness technology and connectivity to address pressing developmental challenges. Our ambition to positively impact 50 million lives by 2030 is bold, and we are committed to helping turn that ambition into scalable, sustainable impact across the continent.”
Alongside Dr Songwe, other board members are Shameel Joosub, Graça Machel, Ayman Essam, Anna Isaac and Gerhard van Niekerk. Mashudu Ndou is the executive head of the Vodacom Foundation.
The Foundation’s strategic direction
The Foundation’s regional strategy is centred on scalable, sustainable and digitally enabled initiatives across three key areas: connected health, connected education and digital skilling.
The Foundation’s Connected Health activities focus on developing digitally enabled approaches to improve health outcomes. These include integrated digital maternal-care networks that link community screening, pregnancy tracking, frontline healthcare support and emergency referral pathways.
Through Connected Education, the Foundation will work to improve teacher effectiveness and student learning outcomes in remote and understaffed classrooms by using digital tools, coaching and data-led support.
A flagship initiative within the education pillar is Classroom Compass, a digital platform that supports teachers and students through classroom tools, teacher coaching, AI-enabled planning and real-time data to identify where additional educational support is needed.
The Digital Skilling pillar will focus on expanding youth employment and economic opportunity. Key activities will include market-aligned digital skills, internships and placement pathways, entrepreneurship support, and career acceleration.
The Foundation will also strengthen strategic partnerships with governments, co-funders, technical partners and implementation organisations to expand the reach and sustainability of its programmes.
The strengthened leadership structure reflects the Foundation’s evolution from country-level initiatives towards a more coordinated regional approach, leveraging Vodacom Group’s assets, relationships and expertise to connect people and deliver measurable, scalable social impact across the continent.