Telkom is setting its sights on significant growth in both private and public sectors, with a particular focus on becoming a digital transformation leader for large enterprises and government initiatives, according to Simo Mkhize, Chief Commercial Officer at Telkom Consumer.
Speaking on the sidelines of Africa Tech Festival 2024 in Cape Town, Mkhize shared Telkom’s strategic outlook, emphasising their ambitions to grow into new markets and play a pivotal role in South Africa’s digital transformation.
“We see ourselves as having a massive opportunity to grow in the large enterprise space, both in the private and public sectors,” Mkhize told TechFinancials.
He highlighted SA Connect, a government-backed initiative that aims to bring broadband access to 90% of the country’s population and to achieve universal access by 2030. Through its subsidiary Openserve, Telkom is instrumental in the project, working toward the goal of connecting 40,000 government institutions.
“The SA Connect project, with Openserve at its backbone, gives us a remarkable platform to bridge the broadband connectivity gaps in underserved areas and support South Africa’s National Development Plan,” he explained.
By expanding its fibre network across various municipalities, Telkom intends to drive growth not only within the public sector but also among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that the network will pass along the way.
“This extension means we can grow in the SME sector as well, bringing connectivity to small businesses and even homes,” Mkhize said, emphasising the potential to strengthen Telkom’s market position across multiple sectors.
Telkom also sees BCX, its IT solutions subsidiary, as a key vehicle for expanding into large enterprises, particularly banks and retailers.
“Through BCX, we are already deeply integrated in IT solutions for large enterprises, but we’re moving up the value chain to deliver more comprehensive connectivity and cloud services,” Mkhize said.
“It’s a massive opportunity, and we’re committed to making substantial progress in the coming years.”
Mkhize added that by unlocking broadband and digital access in the public sector, Telkom could play a transformative role in boosting South Africa’s economic growth.
“Studies show that a 10% increase in broadband access can lead to a 3.5% GDP growth in developing countries and a 2.5% increase in productivity. This connectivity boost could be the catalyst to propel our economy back to pre-2008 growth levels,” he said.
With these ambitions, Telkom is positioning itself not only as a telecom giant but as a central player in South Africa’s journey toward a digitally inclusive and economically thriving future.
Telkom has demonstrated notable success in the device insurance sector, serving approximately 1% of its customer base. This achievement emphasises the substantial growth potential within this market.
Currently, Telkom boasts 161,612 device policies, generating an impressive R284.5 million in revenue.
Despite this success, there remains ample opportunity for Telkom to expand its reach.
By signing up more customers, Telkom can aspire to the levels of market penetration seen by competitors such as Vodacom and MTN, who have achieved significantly higher penetration rates in the device insurance market.
The current figures reflect a promising start but also highlight the untapped potential within Telkom’s existing customer base.
As Telkom continues to focus on expanding its device insurance offerings, it can look to the successes of Vodacom and MTN as benchmarks.
Vodacom South Africa has 44.2 million customers with 2.6 million device policies, and generating R1.2 billion in revenues, while MTN South Africa has 36.5 million subscribers with 400 000 device policies and generating R400 million in revenues.
By employing strategic initiatives aimed at increasing customer awareness and adoption, Telkom is well-positioned to capture a larger share of this lucrative market.
