Vodacom’s VodaBucks loyalty platform has once again been recognised for excellence, taking home multiple prestigious accolades at the inaugural African Loyalty Awards. These included Best Programme: Telco, Best Use of Gamification, Best Long-Term Loyalty Programme in Southern Africa, and Best Overall Long-Term Loyalty Programme of the Year in Africa.
The awards celebrate Africa’s most customer-centric brands and loyalty programmes, recognising innovation, impact, and measurable value delivered to consumers across the continent. VodaBucks strong showing reinforces Vodacom’s position as a leader in loyalty innovation, underpinned by a shared-value model that continues to redefine the customer experience.
The accolades were presented during the African Loyalty Awards Dinner held in Sandton, South Africa recently, attracting entries from East, West, Central, and Southern Africa, showcasing the brands that are truly connecting with their customers and driving meaningful business results.
The African Loyalty Awards, backed by the African Loyalty Association, were established to spotlight organisations that place customers at the heart of their strategy, rewarding programmes that demonstrate creativity, effectiveness, and long-term sustainability within African markets.
“We are very pleased and humbled to be recognised at the inaugural African Loyalty Awards,” said Sitho Mdlalose, Chief Executive Officer of Vodacom South Africa.
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“Our approach is always guided and shaped by our purpose to connect for a better future and our core pillars, one of which is empowering our customers. Our VodaBucks’ loyalty programme design is intuitive, relatable, and agile, appreciating the complexity of society and the evolving needs of customers.”
“But even more importantly, the platform provides tangible benefits and rewards to customers while expanding digital and financial inclusion. We are constantly revisiting and refining our digital solutions to ensure they are fit for purpose in a fast-evolving digital economy.”
Launched in 2020, VodaBucks has revolutionised the traditional loyalty programme model by introducing gamified features such as challenges, interactive games, and personalised rewards, underpinned by advanced Big Data and Customer Value Management capabilities.
African Loyalty Awards
To date, the platform has more than 15 million monthly active users, who earned 3.7 billion VodaBucks in the 2025 financial year. Of these, 1.3 billion were redeemed, with 51% retained, while 84 million personalised customer behavioural goals were achieved during the year under review – underscoring its effectiveness.
Beyond empowering customers and communities, the innovative gamified solutions continue to drive engagement, keeping customers on Vodacom’s network and broader digital ecosystem.
To access VodaBucks, customers can download VodaPay, available through the Apple App Store, Google Play, and Huawei App Gallery.
