{"id":9978,"date":"2026-04-13T11:16:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/?p=9978"},"modified":"2026-04-13T11:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:34:18","slug":"vodacom-group-has-issued-a-strong-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/vodacom-group-has-issued-a-strong-call\/","title":{"rendered":"Vodacom Urges Collective Action to Decarbonise Africa\u2019s ICT Sector in New White Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/villpress.com\/goto\/https:\/\/vodacom.com\/news-article.php?articleID=16802\">Vodacom Group<\/a> has issued a strong call for urgent, coordinated action to decarbonise Africa\u2019s fast-growing digital economy, warning that the continent\u2019s expanding ICT infrastructure faces significant energy and climate challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a new white paper titled <em>Decarbonising Africa\u2019s ICT Sector<\/em>, released this week with technical support from the Carbon Trust, Vodacom highlights how the rapid rollout of mobile networks, data centres, and digital services is driving up energy demand across the continent. At the same time, Africa remains highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, creating a complex balancing act between digital inclusion and environmental sustainability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report points to several structural barriers slowing progress: weak and unreliable electricity grids in many countries, financial constraints facing utilities, complex regulatory frameworks, and heavy dependence on diesel generators for powering remote mobile base stations. These issues make it difficult for telecom operators and other ICT players to shift toward renewable energy sources at the pace required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDecarbonisation in Africa cannot be approached in isolation or through a single-sector lens,\u201d said Ayman Essam, Vodacom Group Chief External Affairs Officer. \u201cWhile we have set an ambition to work towards net-zero emissions, progress depends on systemic change across the energy ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The white paper draws on sector analysis, case studies, and interviews with stakeholders including utilities, technology providers, financial institutions, and regulators. It stresses that Africa must pursue decarbonisation while simultaneously expanding access to reliable and affordable power a dual challenge that supports economic growth, job creation, and digital inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the practical solutions proposed are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Energy sector reforms that allow greater private-sector participation in power generation and distribution.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wider adoption of renewable energy procurement mechanisms, such as power purchase agreements (PPAs).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Expansion of decentralised energy solutions, including mini-grids and solar-hybrid systems, to power off-grid and rural mobile network sites more sustainably.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improved collaboration between the ICT sector, governments, utilities, and financiers to unlock investment and address policy gaps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Vodacom itself has set its own net-zero ambitions and is actively investing in renewable energy projects across its markets in South Africa and beyond. However, the company emphasises that meaningful progress on a continental scale will require collective effort from governments, regulators, energy providers, and the private sector working together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The timing of the white paper is significant. Africa\u2019s digital economy is expanding rapidly, with mobile data traffic and connectivity demands continuing to grow. At the same time, global pressure is mounting on companies and nations to align with climate goals. The report warns that without accelerated action, the ICT sector risks becoming a larger contributor to emissions while struggling with unreliable power supply that hampers service quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By publishing the document, Vodacom positions itself not only as a major telecom operator but also as a thought leader advocating for practical, Africa-specific pathways to a lower-carbon digital future. The white paper serves as both a diagnosis of current challenges and a roadmap of actionable recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Africa continues to close the digital divide and build critical infrastructure, the conversation around how to power that growth sustainably has become increasingly urgent. Vodacom\u2019s latest contribution adds a clear voice to that debate, calling on all stakeholders to move beyond isolated efforts toward genuine systemic collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The full white paper is available on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/villpress.com\/goto\/https:\/\/vodacom.com\/protecting-the-planet.php#decarbonising\">Vodacom\u2019s website<\/a>, offering detailed insights and recommendations for policymakers, industry players, and investors interested in Africa\u2019s energy transition and digital future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vodacom Group has issued a strong call for urgent, coordinated action to decarbonise Africa\u2019s fast-growing digital economy, warning that the continent\u2019s expanding ICT infrastructure faces significant energy and climate challenges. In a new white paper titled Decarbonising Africa\u2019s ICT Sector, released this week with technical support from the Carbon Trust, Vodacom highlights how the rapid [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31579,"featured_media":9979,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[1912],"ppma_author":[452],"class_list":{"0":"post-9978","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tech","8":"tag-vodacom"},"authors":[{"term_id":452,"user_id":31579,"is_guest":0,"slug":"estherspeaks","display_name":"Esther Speaks","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cdcaf0f94087bbfcad372d974a1a697382dc93112457104ff6535cf4984ea4de?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31579"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9978"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9980,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9978\/revisions\/9980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9978"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/villpress.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=9978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}