Exclusive: Vodacom rules out financial services spin-off
CEO Shameel Joosub rejects a path taken by rivals seeking to extract more value from fast-growing mobile money businesses. African telecoms heavyweight Vodacom has ruled out spinning off its financial services unit, its CEO Shameel Joosub told Semafor, rejecting a path taken by rivals seeking to extract more value from fast-growing mobile money businesses. Joosub’s stance potentially sets up a test of two competing strategies across Africa’s telecoms sector after Airtel Money’s London listing gave it a valuation of about $7 billion, or roughly five times annual revenue. Using the same yardstick, Vodacom’s larger financial services business would command roughly $13.5 billion. “We don’t want to sell the crown jewels,” Joosub said. Yesterday the company issued an earnings report that showed revenue from the fintech business rose by almost 20% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier, contributing about a third to the group’s core earnings of $2.6 billion.
CEO Shameel Joosub rejects a path taken by rivals seeking to extract more value from fast-growing mobile money businesses. African telecoms heavyweight Vodacom has ruled out spinning off its financial services unit, its CEO Shameel Joosub told Semafor, rejecting a path taken by rivals seeking to extract more value from fast-growing mobile money businesses. Joosub’s stance potentially sets up a test of two competing strategies across Africa’s telecoms sector after Airtel Money’s London listing gave it a valuation of about $7 billion, or roughly five times annual revenue.
Using the same yardstick, Vodacom’s larger financial services business would command roughly $13.5 billion. “We don’t want to sell the crown jewels,” Joosub said. Yesterday the company issued an earnings report that showed revenue from the fintech business rose by almost 20% in the first half of 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier, contributing about a third to the group’s core earnings of $2.6 billion.