South Africa’s public sector is committed to delivering smarter, faster and more inclusive services to meet rising citizen expectations. However, economic constraints, growing inequality and legacy infrastructure continue to inhibit change and service delivery. Government wants to build a sustainable and connected citizenry, but needs an ecosystem of partners to help overcome systemic barriers and build solutions that are relevant and impactful. It is, said Mncedisi Mayekiso, Sales Transformation Executive at Vodacom Business, why Vodacom is investing in tools, services and innovations designed to help the public sector meet citizen needs.

“We have a longstanding relationship with government, and we want to co-create and connect, building a future for South Africa that has relevance and sustainability in mind,” he said. “Vodacom is the leader in mobile, with 240 million subscribers across Africa and sits at the convergence between connectivity and technology, making us best suited to this evolution.”

The company was born out of government and has at its foundation a deep understanding of its needs and pain points, making it the ideal partner to help government step into a digitally transformed future. “It comes down to creating relevant and resilient solutions that deliver better outcomes for citizens and bridge real gaps in service delivery, and how we are uniquely positioned to do just that,” Mayekiso said.

Vodacom’s network of partners and track record place it in the perfect position to collaborate with government. Microsoft, AWS, and Huawei are among its partner ecosystem and its datacentre infrastructure is designed to enhance service delivery and reliability. The company is also a significant player in the financial service sector – its latest results show that the company currently does more transfers than the entire banking system in South Africa.

“We’re enabling more than 500 000 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and offer loans and support to SMEs through our Vodaland initiative,” said Mayekiso. “We are focused on empowering people.”

The company has also been listening to criticism. A lot of work has been done around its IT systems, customer service infrastructure and responsiveness. Mayekiso shared that the company is paying more than lip service to its desire to improve its services and capabilities: “We want feedback and to earn the trust of the public sector and citizenry.”

This commitment has also led the company to prioritise investments in innovation. It has already created Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality solutions and has invested R13 billion into its network and capabilities as well as digital services. Also speaking at the event, Kirtan Sita, Digital Growth Partner at Vodacom Business Africa, said that the world of technology is changing rapidly and it’s key to ensure that this change is embraced to benefit everyone.

“We live in a hyper-connected world that is giving rise to new opportunities, and connectivity is the glue that binds us together,” he said. “We are seeing advances in technology that are enabling and simplifying the journey to smart government, and reducing the complexities that have traditionally inhibited change and growth within the public sector.”

Sita emphasised the importance of trusted, proven partnerships and the need for government and business to co-create these journeys so there is real change. “Urban places and cities are becoming the engine rooms for unlocking growth and competitive advantage, so we need to respond with access to healthcare and transportation,” he said. “Convenience is a growing theme and we need to enable this through smart technologies; government is key to this enablement.”

Vodacom partners with government to simplify and streamline the digital journey. The company recently won the Most Trusted Enterprise Communications Provider of the Year for 2025, a recognition that cements its commitment to trust and collaboration. This trust, says Sita, is instrumental to bringing AI into the South African citizen ecosystem.

“We are investing in infrastructure and connectivity nationally and are already the leader in connectivity in most areas across the continent,” said Sita. “This is essential to ensuring we can partner with government to deliver end-to-end digital transformation, alongside our extensive resources, critical skills and understanding of AI and data.”

Vodacom has multiple solutions that can connect offices, home workers and citizens, and gather the data into a central point to create and extract value across different platforms. Vodacom has also partnered with the leading hyperscalers to facilitate government’s migration into the cloud. The goal is to help government store its data centrally with reliable and secure backups so that it can extract value and better manage costs. “We can leverage AI and business intelligence to deliver real business value to government through its data,” said Sita. Vodacom’s investments into smart solutions has already been felt by multiple government sectors. In Buffalo City, 63 000 smart meters were deployed to improve revenue collection and accuracy; in Gauteng, the Mpilo app provided patients with a way to report on service quality in real-time; and the MySAPS app has been deployed in critical areas to transform public safety through real-time citizen engagement. Already, the MySAPS app has received over 6 700 tip-offs. It is changing the shape of community-police engagement.

“Vodacom offers the public sector proven solutions and trusted partnerships designed to enhance service delivery and value creation within the very realistic constraints of legacy infrastructure and budgets,” concluded Mayekiso. “We believe technology is a means to an end and will only achieve its goals if we listen to what customers want and collaborate to create solutions that deliver.”

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