Vodacom pledges to grow Lesotho’s digital economy

Vodacom and the government of Lesotho have joined forces to grow the digital economy and, in so doing, create employment opportunities for young people.

Shameel Joosub, CEO of the Vodacom Group, made the pledge during a two-day trip to Lesotho, this week.

According to the company, the purpose of the visit was to strengthen the relationship between Vodacom Lesotho and the Vodacom Group, the government, and the private sector in order to accelerate growth using inclusive digital technology that could be leveraged to open markets for businesses, particularly small businesses.

During his visit, Joosub met with government officials, regulators, and business leaders to reaffirm Vodacom's commitment to Lesotho.

Joosub also met with the CEO of the Lesotho Communications Authority, Nizam Goolam, and the Minister of Communications, Science and Technology, Nthati Moorosi, with whom he discussed partnerships to increase rural coverage, access to basic ‘free’ Internet, infrastructure sharing to reduce deployment costs, and stronger partnerships and collaboration on cyber security.

In addition, Joosub met King Letsie III and the country’s Prime Minister Samuel Matekane. Regarding the conversation with Matekane, Joosub said: "We discussed a number of issues, including digital and financial inclusion, cyber security, and how Vodacom planned to collaborate and partner with the government on its digitisation agenda, noting the need to unlock other opportunities that have the potential to create jobs for the youth within a digital economy."