Vodacom Group has partnered with Elon Musk's Starlink to provide high-speed satellite broadband across Africa, aiming to bridge the continent's digital divide through integrating Starlink's low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology into Vodacom's mobile network infrastructure.

• The agreement was announced on November 12, 2025, at the Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town.
• Vodacom will resell Starlink equipment and services to enterprise and small business customers across its operational footprint, which includes Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia, but initially excludes South Africa due to regulatory challenges.
• This partnership supports Vodacom's Vision 2030 strategy, targeting growth to 260 million mobile subscribers and 120 million financial services customers.
• Only 28% of Sub-Saharan Africa's population had access to mobile internet in 2024.
• Vodacom has an effective 34.94% indirect interest in Safaricom Plc, potentially extending the partnership into Kenya.

Safaricom has acknowledged a widespread and long-standing bug affecting the Lipa na M-PESA functionality within its SIM Toolkit (STK) menu. Users attempting to make payments via STK are instead redirected to the main Safaricom+ and M-PESA screen, interrupting transactions across various device types.

• The bug has been active for more than a year and affects users on Android, iOS, and even feature phones.
• Safaricom Care confirmed the issue on November 14, 2025, via X, stating they are "aware of the issue and working on a permanent solution."
• Affected users are advised to use *334# dial code or the MySafaricom or M-PESA apps as temporary workarounds.

Belgian networking and cybersecurity firm ATOMNIA is expanding its secure connectivity solution, OMNIA, across Africa with support from the Wallonia Export and Investment Agency (AWEX) and technology incubator IGNITY. This partnership, announced at the AfricaCom reception in Cape Town, aims to address connectivity challenges in remote African locations.

• OMNIA offers an integrated SASE and SD-WAN solution, combining cybersecurity, connectivity, and AI-driven threat detection in a single, pay-as-you-go package.
• Belgium is South Africa's fifth largest EU supplier and third largest EU client, with Belgian exports to South Africa reaching EUR 1.5 billion in 2024.
• The solution is designed to reduce complexity and high costs, supporting multiple connection types and featuring a 12-volt battery backup for unreliable power regions.