{"id":11934,"date":"2026-07-15T07:39:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T07:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/?p=11934"},"modified":"2026-07-15T09:14:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T09:14:00","slug":"vodacom-and-itu-sign-protocol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/cs\/vodacom-and-itu-sign-protocol\/","title":{"rendered":"Vodacom and ITU Sign Protocol to Advance Digital Inclusion Across Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/villpress.com\/goto\/https:\/\/vodacom.com\/\">Vodacom <\/a>Group has signed a protocol with the International Telecommunication Union (<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/villpress.com\/goto\/https:\/\/www.itu.int\/en\/Pages\/default.aspx\">ITU<\/a>) to strengthen collaboration on digital inclusion and telecommunications development across the African continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The agreement, signed during the AI for Good Summit, was formalised by Ayman Essam, Chief External Affairs Officer at Vodacom Group, and Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The partnership will focus on areas including regulatory frameworks for satellite communications and spectrum management, digital inclusion strategies, and expanding connectivity for education and other key sectors. Vodacom will share expertise and best practices from its operations in multiple African markets to support ITU initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This protocol builds on Vodacom\u2019s long-standing commitment to bridging the digital divide through investments in network infrastructure, skills development, and innovative connectivity solutions. The collaboration aims to accelerate progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to digital access and inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vodacom operates in several African countries and has previously partnered with international organisations on connectivity projects. The ITU, as the UN specialised agency for digital technologies, coordinates global efforts to expand access and foster innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No specific financial commitments or project timelines were detailed in the announcement. The agreement is expected to facilitate knowledge exchange and joint initiatives in the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move comes as African nations increasingly prioritise digital transformation to drive economic growth and social development. Further details on implementation will be announced as the partnership progresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/villpress.com\/support-villpress\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"926\" height=\"365\" src=\"https:\/\/villpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Support-Villpress-Journalism-new.png\" alt=\"Support Villpress Journalism\" class=\"wp-image-10783\" \/><\/a><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vodacom Group has signed a protocol with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to strengthen collaboration on digital inclusion and telecommunications development across the African continent. The agreement, signed during the AI for Good Summit, was formalised by Ayman Essam, Chief External Affairs Officer at Vodacom Group, and Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the ITU Telecommunication [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31579,"featured_media":11935,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[632],"tags":[33,1912],"ppma_author":[452],"class_list":["post-11934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-telecoms","tag-technology","tag-vodacom"],"authors":[{"term_id":452,"user_id":31579,"is_guest":0,"slug":"estherspeaks","display_name":"Esthy Speaks","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cdcaf0f94087bbfcad372d974a1a697382dc93112457104ff6535cf4984ea4de?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"1","first_name":"Esthy","last_name":"Speaks","user_url":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/","job_title":"","description":"Ester Speaks is a senior reporter and newsroom strategist at Villpress, where she shapes Africa-focused business, technology, and policy coverage.\u00a0 She works at the intersection of journalism, and editorial systems, producing clear, high-impact news that travels globally while staying rooted in African realities."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11934"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11936,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11934\/revisions\/11936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11934"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=11934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}