Digital Business | Vodacom

About Vodacom

Vodacom Group Limited (Vodacom) is a South African mobile communications company that connects South Africa by providing connectivity, digital, and financial services to over 51 million customers. 

Launched in 1993, Vodacom was one of the first mobile service providers in South Africa. It has grown its operations across Africa to cover over 500 million people across the DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Vodacom is majority-owned by Vodafone (65.1% holding), one of the world’s largest communications companies by revenue.
The culture of innovation shared among its staff sets Vodacom apart and drives its growth. For instance, Vodacom was the first to launch 3G and 4G and prepaid airtime in South Africa, and it has introduced revolutionary customer support and functionality through the VodaPay and M-Pesa platforms. Innovation is such a crucial part of Vodacom’s DNA that Chief Executive Officer Shameel Joosub offers a R1 million reward for exceptional ideas that deliver value to its objectives.

Watch their #epicingenuity story 

The solution

We presented Vodacom with Idea Trigger, a platform-based collaboration tool that enables staff members to propose solutions or innovations that would deliver value to Vodacom’s objectives:

1. Added value to customers
2. Simplified processes
3. Business growth

Full transparency
Every Vodacom employee can submit their idea and track its progress at every step, from reviews to scoring, with credit accurately attributed.

Enhanced collaboration 
Vodacom challenged us to develop a way to rapidly and powerfully support internal collaboration.  So, we created the Bench. 
This portal lets staff members list skills, interests or ideas to support existing submissions. At any point, a staff member who has submitted an idea can connect with any Vodacom employee worldwide and leverage their advertised skillset. 

Accurate idea scoring
Using Idea Trigger, Vodacom can direct submissions to the correct subject matter experts for review. This process ensures that every idea is seen by the people who can best see its value, regardless of the department or country the idea originates from. 

Streamlined process
Idea Trigger instantly removes all manual processes involved in collating, reviewing, scoring and rewarding innovations. 

Trust
All submitted ideas are visible to every Vodacom and Vodafone employee. People can comment on and ‘Like’ ideas, share ideas, and work on ideas collaboratively. Most importantly, Idea Trigger supports Vodacom’s ethos of getting things done together, experimenting, and learning fast. 

The correct approach
Idea Trigger enables Vodacom to ask the correct questions, get the proper people to score the ideas, and shortlist the best ideas.

The benefits

•  Idea Trigger enabled Vodacom’s internal idea hack-a-thon to grow from South Africa and reach all African operations.

• In 2023, over 500 ideas were submitted for the hack-a-thon

• Vodacom’s parent company, Vodafone, has adopted Idea Trigger to support its innovation drives.

• 50% of the winning hack-a-thon and Idea Trigger initiatives have been implemented and are in production

• In a combination of cost-savings and new revenue streams, Idea Trigger has helped Vodacom realise R1 billion in additional revenue.

• Staff members from Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya, who otherwise would never have been able to connect, collaborated on an M-PESA project that has earned Vodacom R1 million over the last three years.