As climate pressures intensify and energy demand grows, Africa must cut carbon emissions while expanding access to reliable, affordable power that supports development, jobs and digital inclusion. Yet many sectors – from telecommunications and healthcare to mining, logistics and manufacturing – still depend on carbon-intensive, costly diesel generators due to weak grid infrastructure and unreliable electricity supply.
Addressing this challenge at scale will require multi-sector collaboration, coordinated action across public and private stakeholders, and energy system reforms that unlock investment in renewable and decentralised energy solutions.
It is against this backdrop that Vodacom Group has released a new white paper, titled Decarbonising Africa’s ICT Sector. The report contributes insights into one of Africa’s fastest‑growing sectors, where expanding digital and network infrastructure brings growing energy demands and is navigating the complexities of decarbonisation while continuing to support economic and social development.
“Decarbonisation in Africa cannot be approached in isolation or through a single‑sector lens,” says Ayman Essam, Chief Officer: External Affairs at Vodacom Group. “While we have set an ambition to work towards net‑zero emissions, progress depends on systemic change across the energy ecosystem. This includes policies that enable private sector participation, new financing models, and partnerships that can scale renewable energy solutions beyond individual organisations.”
The research highlights that while Africa remains highly vulnerable to climate change, it faces critical energy challenges that hamper decarbonisation efforts. Weak grid infrastructure, financial constraints within utilities, complex regulatory environments, and unreliable electricity supply continue to slow the adoption of renewable energy across the continent. This has led many sectors, including telecommunications, to rely heavily on carbon-intensive diesel generators to power operations.
To address these barriers, the white paper outlines several practical solutions that could help accelerate decarbonisation across the ICT sector. These include energy sector reforms that enable greater private sector participation, renewable energy procurement mechanisms such as power purchase agreements (PPAs), and the expansion of decentralised energy solutions, including mini-grids, to power remote mobile network base stations.
Vodacom’s own decarbonisation journey reflects how meaningful emissions reductions are achievable, even in energy‑constrained environments. In the past financial year, the group matched 100% of grid electricity purchased with electricity from renewable sources, reducing scope 2 market‑based emissions to almost zero across most operations. Since FY2020, Vodacom has reduced scope 1 and 2 market‑based greenhouse gas emissions by 77%, driven primarily by energy efficiency improvements and renewable electricity procurement. Ongoing network optimisation has improved the efficiency of data delivery across the network, significantly lowering the energy required to carry growing volumes of traffic, from 1.55 MWh per terabyte of data in FY2020 to 0.36 MWh per terabyte in FY2025. Today, 61% of Vodacom’s total scope 1 and 2 energy consumption is now sourced from renewables, including onsite generation, power purchase agreements and renewable energy certificates.
While mobile network operators are major energy consumers, the report emphasises that they are also critical enablers of Africa’s digital and economic development – making their role in the low-carbon transition both complex and essential.
Developed with technical support from the Carbon Trust, the research draws on sector analysis, case studies and interviews with stakeholders across the ICT and energy value chains, including utilities, technology providers, financial institutions and regulators.
“By sharing insights and identifying pathways forward, the report aims to support more coordinated action across the industry and take up the significant opportunity for Africa to build a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable digital economy,” concludes Essam.
Click here to download the paper.
