The Vodacom Foundation has appointed a new seven-member board to accelerate its ambition of positively impacting 50 million lives across Africa by 2030. The board, chaired by renowned economist and former United Nations Under-Secretary-General Dr Vera Songwe, will guide the foundation’s shift towards scalable, digitally enabled programmes across connected health, connected education and digital skilling. The move brings together the eight Vodacom foundations operating across the group’s footprint under a single umbrella, marking a transition from country-level initiatives to a more coordinated regional approach.
The new board members bring expertise spanning economic development, public policy, technology, sustainability, governance and social impact. Joining Dr Songwe are Vodacom Group CEO and founder of the Vodacom Foundation Shameel Joosub, founder of the Graça Machel Trust Graça Machel, Vodacom Group chief officer for external affairs Ayman Essam, Vodacom Group chief officer for legal, risk and compliance Anna Isaac and Vodacom Mauritius executive Gerhard van Niekerk. Mashudu Ndou, a sustainability and social-impact executive, will serve as executive head of the foundation.
Dr Songwe said: “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.” Shameel Joosub added: “Our strengthened leadership and regional approach will help us scale what works, deepen partnerships and use technology to create measurable, lasting impact for millions of people across Africa.”
The foundation’s strategy centres on three pillars. Connected Health will focus on digitally enabled maternal-care networks that link community screening, pregnancy tracking, frontline healthcare support and emergency referral pathways. Connected Education will work to improve teacher effectiveness and student learning outcomes in remote and understaffed classrooms through digital tools, coaching and data-led support. A flagship initiative within this pillar, Classroom Compass, provides teachers and learners with digital classroom tools, teacher coaching, artificial intelligence assisted planning and real-time data to identify where additional educational support is needed. Digital Skilling will focus on expanding youth employment and economic opportunity through market-aligned digital skills, internships, placement pathways, entrepreneurship support and career acceleration.
The foundation plans to strengthen strategic partnerships with governments, co-funders, technical partners and implementation organisations to expand the reach and sustainability of its programmes. Vodacom has invested more than R1.6 billion in South Africa through its foundation since 1999 across education, gender empowerment and broader social development. The strengthened leadership structure reflects the foundation’s evolution towards leveraging Vodacom Group’s assets, relationships and expertise to deliver measurable, scalable social impact across the continent.
