Vodafone is a brand that needs no introduction, known to most of us as a leading telecommunication company, it is a crucial member of the worldwide telecommunications industry, with a significant presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, and the United States. Globally Vodafone has over 330 million mobile customers, more than 28 million fixed broadband customers, and 21 million TV customers through its operations across 21 countries. In Ghana, Vodafone is the telecommunications provider of choice for most Ghanaians. Following their acquisition of Ghana Telecoms in 2008, Vodafone Ghana leads the way in providing communication solutions across Ghana.
As an operating company under the Vodafone Group Plc, Vodafone Ghana provides mobile, fixed lines, internet, voice, and data communications across Ghana, and is currently ranked 2nd in terms of market share for a telecommunication company in the country. As of June 2022, Vodafone Ghana had 7.3 million subscribers across the country. As a brand, Vodafone Ghana provides Vodafone Business Solutions (VBS) which aims to serve a variety of businesses and government agencies in Ghana by providing network-based IT and communication solutions. The aim of VBS is to empower businesses to grow, cut down on costs, increase their efficiency and improve their profits to continue developing the Ghanaian economy. Therefore, as a brand Vodafone Ghana has positioned itself as a leader in Ghana for telecommunication services both in domestic, business, and governmental settings.
Under Vodafone Ghana, there is the subsidiary division of Vodafone Wholesale, which is incorporated as the National Communications Backbone Company (NCBC). The Vodafone Wholesale services provide and sell fibre-optic products and related services across Ghana and the West Sub-Region. They are the only network in Ghana to provide mobile network operators and internet service providers with high-quality and reasonably priced services with cross-border connectivity to the landlocked countries in West Africa.
Vodafone Ghana goes beyond their role as a telecommunication provider and has become the most awarded telecoms company, winning close to 70 local and international awards in the past 4 years for its work in the local community. As part of Vodafone Ghana’s commitment to supporting their local communities, they launched the Vodafone Ghana Foundation in 2009, aiming to support sustainable initiatives that drive social change to improve people’s lives and to help to solve pressing social needs. Vodafone Ghana believes that mobile communications can help to address humanitarian needs to improve living conditions across Ghana. Their vision is to be regarded as the most caring telecommunications brand in Ghana, by empowering and giving access to tools and facilities that support sustainable social change.
The focus of the Vodafone Ghana Foundation is to combine charity work and technology to deliver projects that will improve and enhance the living conditions of Ghanaians through health, education, and charitable donations. A key part of this work is in their initiative of Instant Schools. The initiative aims to provide millions of young people across Africa with access to free online learning materials. The learning content is aimed to target primary and secondary school children and will be free to access through the Vodafone network. This plan comes as part of a continuing effort to provide children with quality teaching material, which is provided by the Khan Academy.
Furthermore, as a global company, Vodafone is committed to reducing its environmental impact towards a goal of net zero emissions throughout its value chain by 2024. They are also helping their customers to reduce their carbon emissions by 350 million tonnes by 2030, as they are driving action to reduce device waste.
However, as of February 2023, Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA) has given approval for Telecel to buy a 70% stake in Vodafone Ghana. Telecel has said they plan to develop their presence in Ghana by extending the coverage of 4G across the country, to allow more people to enjoy high-speed internet. These plans come with a proposed $700 million investment over 5 years into developing communication and commerce across Africa. The Telecel Group is an African-focused telecommunications provider that operates across Africa, including South Africa, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Kenya, and Senegal. The acquisition however is ensured to have no effect on the employment at Vodafone Ghana, as they are committed to keeping all the current staff to ensure the social and economic effect of the acquisition does not negatively affect the employees or the local community.
Therefore, the future of Vodafone Ghana looks to continue its development across the country as part of Telecel’s ongoing African telecommunication projects. However, for Vodafone their stake in their Ghana division has been greatly reduced, as part of their effort to streamline their portfolio. Therefore, the new phase of Vodafone Ghana is set to evolve over the coming year, but one thing we are sure will remain: Ghanaian development, support and improving telecommunication services will continue to bring together and help Ghana as a country.
Overall, Vodafone Ghana leads the way in telecommunication services to provide Ghana with the best services of phone and internet communication to continue the development of the country. With Telecel’s acquisition of 70% of Vodafone Ghana, the company looks to continue to expand its telecommunications services across the continent. As a brand, Vodafone Ghana maintains the innovation and responsiveness that the Vodafone Group is recognised for worldwide, and brings these innovations for community support into Ghana to establish health, education and economic development through their services.
