Vodacom Tanzania chief on future of digital services and transformation

Having worked with MTN across so many African markets, what made you decide to jump ship and move to Vodacom Tanzania?

Tanzania presents an amazing opportunity for me in terms of the job to be done here. However, every change comes with anxiety and excitement. You are confronting the unknown, like in my instance. I had spent the majority of my career with a different organisation, rising through the ranks, and then, after attaining all this experience, it came time to jump ship. But one thing is true: It doesn’t matter whether you are straight from the university or have garnered so many years of experience; going into a new job, day one is day one.

Furthermore, we are at a very critical time of immense business growth, where the government is supporting the private sector and the world is pro-digital. So, being in a position where I’m able to lead that transformation in Tanzania is important. Being in the midst of that, when the call came, I could not hesitate.

Anyone who heads such a big company like Vodacom is often scrutinized. Does that add any extra pressure?

A role of this magnitude has its pros and cons. But what you need to focus on is the job at hand. There is an overly used reference that says “play the ball and not the player,” which means minimise destructions and keep your eyes on the job to be done.

What keeps me grounded is self-awareness. Knowing that, beyond being an MD of this organisation, I’m human and susceptible to curve balls so, the scrutiny will always be there when it comes to this job, and I need to be mindful of that and lead responsibly.

Outside of work, I need to be mindful of the fact that I’m a family man. So, I wouldn’t want this job to get into that family space and make it uncomfortable for my family. But at the end of the day, I have got to do what’s good for the company, good for my family, and also for myself.

Any challenges or early opportunities that you have spotted?

When it comes to challenges, this is a demanding job. I need to stay focused all the time. I need to pace myself so that I’m not overly exposed but also not too disengaged. In order to achieve this, it’s important to have a good support system. Personally, I speak to my wife all the time. I tell her what I’m planning to do and seek her advice. But I also have colleagues at work that I share with ideas. There’s also a big support system externally in terms of peer groups. For example, I’m part of the CEO roundtable, which is made up of senior, top, and talented CEOs, and I’m able to talk to them, and they advise me accordingly.

What are you promising your shareholders as far as business value is concerned?

When you are the CEO, protecting and growing shareholder value is of utmost importance. Vodacom Tanzania is a listed company; unfortunately, in the last two years, we have not paid dividends to the shareholders. This is something that shareholders look forward to: when do you start to pay dividends? We are working very hard to make sure that we create value for shareholders and ultimately be able to return to paying dividends.

Secondly, I need to be at the forefront of leading all-round stakeholder value creation for our customers. Customers want to be a part of a company that is socially responsible, one they can get value from, one that’s at the forefront of the industry in which it operates, and one that creates value for its employees.

Vodacom launched 5G last year; tell us how the uptake has been, and do you feel that Tanzania is ready for 5G on a consumer level?

Yes, Tanzania is ready. After launching 5G in September 2022, we later got additional spectrum, which has now allowed us to commercialise our 5G. At the moment, we have over 200 5G sites and will be expanding. I believe technology is one of those areas where Africa should not be left behind.

In your opinion, what would it take for 5G to be more accessible in Tanzania?

First and foremost, investment is key. It is quite an expensive technology to deploy. So, we are working with the government to try and see how we can co-create an enabling environment. But again, from a government perspective, they need to ensure that there is high adoption of technology.

A number of these initiatives will be successful if the government embraces them.

There are prospects that Elon Musk’s Starlink will soon start operating in Tanzania. How do you, as a telecom company, receive the news?

Competition is always welcome; it brings out the best in all of us. If we are complacent in any way, it encourages us to up our game. We welcome Starlink to set up shop in Tanzania.  It is an opportunity to expand broadband coverage in Tanzania, which has a penetration rate just short of 60 percent, and yet the government has an ambition of getting to 80 percent by 2025. But based on the current infrastructure, it is very expensive.  For me to set up a tower somewhere, we are talking about around $125,000 per tower on average.

However, the low orbit satellite technology that Starlink brings is an opportunity to expand on broadband. But I think the bigger opportunity, especially for us as ecosystem players, is to see areas where we can collaborate with Starlink, because there are areas where we have the best practices and there are areas where they have the best practices. So, we can collaborate and give Tanzanians the best possible service and value.

The prosperity of the telco business is dependent on good regulatory policies. Out of foresight, how do you plan to engage the government in order to avert the adverse effects of policies that affect the flow of business?

The government had its objectives when it decided to start the mobile transaction levies. Unfortunately, the instruments had a very negative impact on the financial sector. We probably lost close to two years of momentum in areas such as growing financial inclusion in Tanzania.

I’m glad that the government has been very open and welcoming to engagement to see how we can have fit-for-growth policies that don’t regress what has already been achieved. So, continuous engagement is really important.

In one of the forums I attended with the Minister of Finance, I said that our data shows that almost one million M-Pesa users stopped transacting on our platform when these taxes were introduced.

So, a tax that was meant to achieve one thing for the government created a ripple effect on the other side.

So what happens is that all these transactions that were once digital are now no longer visible or traceable, and nobody knows where that money goes, not even the government.

So, I think it’s in the government’s interest to support digitisation and financial inclusion efforts because they create transparency in the financial ecosystem—they can see where money goes and where it comes from. But also, the more people participate, the broader the taxable base becomes.

What are the leading revenue generators for Vodacom?

Telecom operators worldwide tend to follow the same curve. If you look at core GSM services, it starts off with voice, and then data kicks in; when data kicks in, voice starts to go down—that has usually been the case in many markets—and then you get into other business areas. For instance, in our market, we have fintech, enterprise, and wholesale.

When you look at Tanzania, data is growing exponentially, but there is still quite a high usage of voice services.

This is one country where people love to talk. One can use an average of 200 minutes per month—that is so high. For example, South Africa averages under 100 minutes per month per person.

So in Tanzania, there is a very interesting duality between voice and data.

Now we are seeing digital services emerge—music, movies, educational content. It is a space that is growing massively and shows prospects for more potential.

But as telcos mature, the wholesale space starts to grow. Wholesale is where infrastructure is monetised through sharing.

So instead of building a tower and sitting on it alone, I bring the other operators to share it with me, and it becomes a revenue stream. Wholesale services are not so big in Tanzania yet, but there is positive movement in that direction.

But there is also wholesale fiber; we currently share capacity with TTCL and the government.

Your vision includes a mission to use technology to transform lives; how has Vodacom been doing this, and what can we look forward to?

Technology is a passion point for me. I believe that as corporate citizens, that is how we create social impact and transform the country.

Vodacom has initiatives such as Code Like a Girl, where we give pre-teen girls their first chance at technology.

They learn how to write code and develop websites. We also have an ICT laboratory program in schools. We also have the digital accelerator program, which supports startups in the tech space by preparing them for funding and making them investment-ready.

Moving forward, I want Vodacom to have a keen focus on empowering women-led startups; I want us to become an incubator for women-led entities.

But beyond all these, we have our flagship program, m-mama, an emergency transport service that connects mothers and newborns to vital, life-saving healthcare in rural areas.