Vodafone Group Public Profile
Vodafone Group Plc (Vodafone) operates as an European and African telecommunications company, which transforms the way the company’s customers live and work through its innovation, technology, connectivity, platforms, products and services.
The company operates mobile and fixed networks in 17 countries and has stakes in a further five countries through the company’s joint ventures and associates. The company also partners with mobile networks in 46 countries outside the company’s footprint. The company’s portfolio of local markets is supported by corporate services and shared operations, which deliver benefits through scale and standardisation.
The company’s business is consisted of infrastructure assets, shared operations, growth platforms and retail and service operations. The company’s retail and service operations are split across three broad business lines: Europe Consumer, Vodafone Business and Africa Consumer.
Core connectivity products and services in fixed and mobile account for the majority of the company’s revenue. However, the company’s portfolio also includes high return growth areas that leverage and complement the company’s core connectivity business, such as digital services, the Internet of Things (‘IoT’) and financial services. The company markets and sells through digital and physical channels.
Europe Consumer
The company provides a range of market leading mobile and fixed line connectivity services in the company’s European markets. The company’s converged plans combine these offerings, providing simplicity and better value for the company’s customers. Other value added services include the company’s Consumer IoT propositions, as well as security and insurance products.
Vodafone Business
The company serves private and public sector customers of all sizes with a broad range of connectivity services, supported by the company’s dedicated global network. The company has unique scale and capabilities, and is expanding the company’s portfolio of products and services into growth areas, such as unified communications, cloud and security, and IoT.
Africa Consumer
The company provides a range of mobile services. The demand for mobile data is growing rapidly driven by the lack of fixed broadband access and by increased smartphone penetration. Together with Vodacom’s VodaPay super-app and the M-Pesa payment platform, the company is the leading provider of financial services, as well as business and merchant services in Africa.
Customers
The company has over 300 million customers connected to its next-generation mobile and fixed networks. The company has specifically focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’), agriculture and health.
Digitalising Business
Through Vodafone Business, the company provides products and services which are specifically tailored for SME and small-office home-office (‘SOHO’) businesses, helping guide them through technology choices and improving their digital readiness. The company has almost seven million SME and SOHO customers.
To better support SMEs across Europe and Africa, Vodafone Business launched V-Hub, its digital advice service. This free service provides access to online information and connects SMEs with experts who provide one-to-one advice and support on digitally transforming businesses in an ever-changing digital world.
As of March 2023, V-Hub had been used by over 5.2 million unique visitors across 14 markets.
The company has set an ambition to reach seven million visitors and help them digitalise their businesses through V-Hub by 2025. Over the next year, the company plans to enhance the V-Hub offering, creating a signed-in environment to provide a more personal, secure, and efficient experience for SMEs. Once signed in, users will receive tailored content and a bespoke action plan for their business’ digitalisation. In turn, the company will start to build a V-Hub membership of engaged SMEs on their digitalisation journey, creating reliable and relevant connections for peer-to-peer advice, business networking and local-to-global community.
Beyond customers, the company is working to support SMEs in its supply chain. The company also offers optional supply chain financing, which allows suppliers to leverage Vodafone’s credit position to access cheaper funding and liquidity.
In South Africa, Vodacom Financial Services has built a supplier portal called VodaTrade, where small suppliers can connect with bigger business partners. There are 127 SMEs registered on the VodaTrade portal, which provides them access to procurement opportunities with seven large retailers.
Digitalising Agriculture
Vodafone is working with partners across the value chain to introduce new applications and Internet of Things (‘IoT’) platforms to provide farmers with digital information and the opportunity to optimise resources. Through Vodacom’s subsidiary, Mezzanine, the company has developed MyFarmWeb, an agricultural digital platform, to support commercial farms. Last year, the company expanded into Italy, Germany, Spain, Ireland, and the U.K.; and almost 9,300 commercial farms use MyFarmWeb.
Digitalising Healthcare
Working together with University Clinic Düsseldorf, the company has built Europe’s first 5G medical campus using Vodafone’s RedBox, a 5G network-in-a-box that provides multi-building low latency coverage. The 5G network enables new ways of working for medical professionals – for example, using 3D mixed reality to rehearse neurology and cardiology procedures before operating.
Vodafone will implement optical fibre backbone and internet access for thousands of hospitals and health centres across seven regions in Italy. This is part of the Italian government’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan as it looks to improve connectivity infrastructure across the healthcare system.
In Spain, the company has helped Cruz Roja Español (Red Cross) by building a telecare solution that supports vulnerable people, including the elderly, victims of gender violence and people with disabilities.
The company is among the largest global IoT connectivity providers, enabling over 25 million connected medical devices on the company’s IoT network, and has been recognised by Gartner as a leader in Managed IoT Connectivity Services for nine consecutive years.
The company is investing in its new Tech Innovation Centre in Dresden. Working with leading universities, hospitals, and health tech companies, the company is advancing the use of 5G, 6G and artificial intelligence (‘AI’) in digital healthcare.
History
Vodafone Group Plc was incorporated under English law in 1984.
