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network of 100 taxi drivers to respond to toll-free emergency
calls from pregnant women needing to get to hospital, with the
drivers paid using M-Pesa. In Lesotho, we are using a text-to-
treatment model to get more HIV-positive pregnant women and
children onto effective treatment programmes, with M-Pesa
facilitating patients’ transport.
Delivering value through social investment
In addition to delivering societal value through our core business
activities, we also support various initiatives and partnerships in
education, health, entrepreneurship and other areas through our
corporate social investment activities administered through the
Vodacom Foundation. This year, we invested R114 million in
community projects across our markets aimed at promoting
broader societal transformation.
The following is a selection of recent social investment projects
across our focus areas and operating regions (further information
is provided in our Sustainability report):
g
g
Through our flagship mobile education programme
(mEducation), developed in partnership with the Department of
Basic Education, we have provided ICT equipment and Internet
connectivity to 3 000 schools throughout South Africa. We have
also equipped and connected 92 teacher centres that offer
teacher development courses, youth training on ICT, and
community programmes. We have trained over 100 000
teachers on the use of ICT in the classroom.
g
g
In June 2016, Vodacom partnered with South Africa’s leading
career websites to launch the NXT LVL zero-rated career website.
This enables job seekers to browse job sites, upload their CVs
and apply for available positions free of charge.
g
g
In partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees’ (UNHCR) Innovation and Education units, we have
deployed our ‘Instant Classroom’ to schools in various refugee
settlements. Designed by Vodafone, the ‘digital school in a box’
comes equipped with a laptop, 25 tablets pre-loaded with
educational software, a projector, a speaker and a hotspot
modem with 3G connectivity.
g
g
Through the Vodacom Foundation we have been a long-standing
supporter of various non-profit organisations (NPOs) in the
health arena, including Ndlovu Care Group, Smile Foundation,
South African National Council for the Blind, and the Netcare
Foundation.
g
g
In 2014, in partnership with the South African Department of
Social Development, we established a 24-hour call centre
providing counselling to victims of gender-based violence; this
year, we extended its services to people with a hearing
impairment. We continue to fund various NPOs that render
critical intervention in combating gender-based violence.
g
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In Lesotho, we have invested in a multi-year project (iSchool)
that delivers educational tablets to five primary schools in four
districts; the tablets contain approved curriculum and relevant
teaching material, from lesson plans, classroom exercises to
homework sections and homework help sections.
g
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This year, we invested R3 million to support 12 entrepreneurs
through a 12-week incubator programme at Vodacom Lesotho’s
Innovation Park, a technology-based business incubator that
leverages the power of technology and mobile communications
to help small businesses become more competitive.
g
g
In Mozambique, we contributed R3.7 million worth of supplies
towards relief efforts following Cyclone Dineo, which devastated
Inhambane province in February 2017; we also contributed
R1.6 million to enable our customers to communicate for free
with family and friends, and distributed 10 000 treated mosquito
nets across the country.
Vodacom Change the World programme
For the past six years, Vodacom South Africa has annually selected
around 20 volunteers to work for an NPO of their choice for a year,
retaining their salary and at no cost to the volunteer or host
organisation. The volunteers have the opportunity to do
something close to their hearts while imparting their skills and
expertise to an NPO. Since its inception, Vodacom has invested
more than R35 million on project funds, salaries and grants to the
NPOs, with 100 volunteers delivering more than 100 projects.
Innovator Trust
We established the Innovator Trust in 2014 with a loan facility of
R750 million over five years at a lower than prime interest rate.
The funding is used to equip black entrepreneurs in the ICT
sectors with the necessary business skills to work with the
corporate sector. As at 31 March 2017, the Innovator Trust has
successfully incubated 53 SMEs as part of a two-year business
training programme.
Vodacom succeeds under new amended
ICT sector BBBEE codes
This year saw the release of the amended ICT sector BEE codes,
which was gazetted in November 2016, with the effective date
being 1 April 2016. One of the most noticeable changes is that
the scorecard BBBEE level recognition has changed materially
and, if applied without remedy, would have resulted in the
Vodacom BBBEE status dropping from Level 2 to Level 7
and as a result of discounting thresholds, to a Level 8.
0
2012 ICT
sector codes
>100
100
85
75
65
55
45
40
30
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
Level 7
Level 8
Non-compliant
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
Level 7
Level 8
Non-compliant
Final amended ICT codes
November 2016
>120
120
115
110
100
95
90
75
55
0
With less than 4 months to remedy the effects of the amended
codes, the Board approved various initiatives to ensure that
Vodacom attains a Level 4 BBBEE status.
our brand
and reputation
05
continued
Vodacom Group Limited
Integrated report for the year ended 31 March 2017
40