Vodacom has fired a major shot in Africa’s rapidly escalating AI race, sealing a multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud that will significantly transform how technology reaches consumers and businesses across the continent.
Announced yesterday, the partnership will see the Pan African telecoms and technology giant overhaul its digital backbone by unifying its massive data estate on Google Cloud infrastructure.
Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub further revealed that Africa’s second-largest telecommunications company would also deploy Google’s cutting-edge generative AI models, including Gemini, Veo and Imagen, across its African operations.
Joosub stressed that the partnership positions one of Africa’s most influential tech groups to deliver smarter networks, personalised digital services and next-generation fintech products at a scale not previously possible on the continent.
“This collaboration is more than a technology upgrade. It is a deep commitment to Africa’s digital revolution. Integrating Google Cloud’s data and AI solutions into our business will modernise our infrastructure and fundamentally shift our operational paradigm.
"This collaboration is essential for us to build and deploy solutions that address the unique challenges and opportunities of the continent, ensuring the transformative power of AI is accessible to millions of customers and businesses across Africa,” he said.
Similarly, Maureen Costello, Google Cloud vice president for UKI and Sub-Saharan Africa, welcomed the deal as a turning point for expanding African access to advanced AI tools.
“Google Cloud is proud to support Vodacom in accelerating AI across Africa. By providing access to our most advanced generative AI models, from Gemini to our leading data infrastructure, we are supporting Vodacom’s ambitious vision to build technology solutions that improve the lives of Africans,” she said.
Under the agreement, Vodacom will migrate its core data platforms, including analytics engine BigQuery, into a unified cloud environment to improve real-time insights, reinforce data governance and create a single secure source of truth across all its markets.
The partnership also paves the way for new enterprise and consumer offerings, from AI-enhanced network optimisation and personalised customer care to fraud detection and smarter mobile money services.
As one of the major telcos driving Africa’s leap into the digital era, Vodacom says early innovation will focus on fintech products that expand financial inclusion, enterprise-grade cloud solutions, and new digital experiences in content and education.
The Pan African Group, which serves more than 223 million customers across Africa and processes over $460 billion in mobile-money value every year, gives the collaboration an enormous launchpad for continent-wide AI adoption.
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