Vodacom Congo has celebrated its 21 years of operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC and announced that it has reached the historic milestone of 21 million subscribers.
Vodacom Congo has built a modern and dense network that has allowed the company to maintain its leadership position (first network to launch 2G, 3G and 4G- LTE) as well as lead-network in innovative products and services within the mobile telephony space.
Committed to its vision of connecting communities for a better future through a wide range of innovations, Vodacom Congo has constantly reinvented itself, providing solutions that respond to the growing demands of Congolese in search for economic and social fulfillment.
“After 21 years of service in the DRC, more than 21 million Congolese are now connected to Vodacom,”Khalil Al Americani; Chief Executive of Vodacom DRC.
With a total investment of more than 1.7 billion USD since 2002, Vodacom Congo has kept the Congolese people at the heart of its strategic choices; by connecting communities, contributing to inclusion for all, and particularly financial inclusion through M-PESA in a country where the banking penetration rate remains relatively low.
Further, Vodacom Congo has managed to deploy its network to the most remote areas in the DRC, mostly through the use of green technology which has enabled accelerated deployment of nearly 1,000 rural sites that rely solely on solar energy.
Top on the list of its biggest innovations the firm launched M-Pesa Rallonge: an overdraft service allowing users to borrow money in order to complete their transaction. Launched in 2022, the service has already met the needs of more than 2 million customers to date; a smart phone lay-by offer « Smartphone à Crédit », that contributes to bridging the digital devide, giving customers the opportunity to purchase a brand new smartphone on a lay-by basis that allows several settlements over 12 months by M-Pesa; M-Pesa bureau de change: a timely innovation in light of the dual currency economy in DRC and which allows one to carry out foreign exchange transactions from the convenience of their phone and M-Pesa Mikili: an auspicious innovation that allows one to receive money from abroad directly into their mobile wallet.
The firm has also been at the center of digitization of utility services such as the purchase of communication airtime or internet bundles, the purchase of fuel, the renewal of paid TV channels , several integrations with banks, payment of water and electricity bills, as well as E-commerce settlements via M-Pesa.