Black investors participating in YeboYethu, the black economic empowerment initiative of Vodacom SA, are poised to receive dividends exceeding R48.7 million.
Established in 2008, the Vodacom YeboYethu empowerment programme enabled black individuals to acquire discounted Vodacom SA shares.
It’s important to note that YeboYethu holds no ownership, beneficial interests, or rights to Vodacom Group shares.
For the six months ending on September 30, 2023, YeboYethu received a dividend of R377.7 million from Vodacom, prompting the empowerment company to declare an interim dividend of 92 cents per share.
Also read: R74 Million in Dividends Unclaimed in Vodacom’s YeboYethu
YeboYethu, the broad-based black economic empowerment arm of Vodacom, is looking for thousands of shareholders who are owed close to R74 million.
“YeboYethu has a number of shareholders to whom unclaimed dividends of R73 742 748 are owed,” Zarina Bassa, YeboYethu’s chairman, revealed in the company’s latest annual report.
“As a result of shareholders not updating their contact details regularly, we are unable to contact these shareholders, notwithstanding significant cost and efforts in trying to trace them.”
The Vodacom YeboYethu empowerment scheme was established in 2008 and allowed black people to purchase Vodacom SA shares at a discount.