Vodacom has partnered with the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) and technology providers to give young individuals access to digital skills.
The initiative aims to enhance digital literacy for Africa’s future generation in a province where the unemployment rate is one of the highest in the country, says the mobile operator in a statement.
In partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Skillsoft and other organisations, Vodacom says it seeks to close the digital skills gap across eight African nations and upskill one million young people by 2027.
It notes the Vodacom Group Digital Skills Hub is available in South Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho, Egypt (Talimy), the Democratic Republic of Congo (VodaEduc) and in Kenya (Industry Digital Talent Programme). The hub focuses on empowering the next generation of digital innovators, enabling Africa’s digital society and leveraging existing e-learning platforms in the respective markets.
The operator says this initiative is most relevant for South Africa since the youth aged 15 to 24 and 25 to 34 continue to have the highest unemployment rates at 62.2% and 40.5%, respectively.
According to the Stats SA Quarterly Labour Force Survey for Q2 of 2025, approximately 3.6 million out of 10.3 million (or 35.2%) young people aged 15 to 24 were not in employment, education or training.
More critically, it adds, the black African unemployment rate has consistently been higher than the national average and other population groups over the past 10-year period at 37.1%.
“The Eastern Cape has consistently recorded unemployment rates above the national level and this has moved us to use digital technologies to provide youth from this province with digital skills and training to equip them for the job market in the digital economy,” says Zakhele Jiyane, managing executive for Vodacom Eastern Cape region.
“As a purpose-led organisation, the roll-out of the Digital Skills Hub in the Eastern Cape demonstrates our commitment to leading the way towards using our resources and technology to respond to socio-economic challenges that are seriously plaguing the country.”
According to the International Finance Corporation, it is anticipated that by 2030, over 230 million jobs in Africa will require digital skills.
Nevertheless, Vodacom notes there is currently a significant gap between the availability and the need for digital talent on the continent.
In 2024, during the opening of the legislature, the Eastern Cape premier emphasised that 65% of households in the province had access to the internet and positioned the digital economy alongside agriculture, manufacturing, the oceans economy and tourism as one of five key frontiers to drive growth.
Responding to this call, the ECDC partnered with Vodacom to equip young people with the skills, confidence and opportunities to compete on a global stage.
“This partnership is an investment, not only in digital literacy, but also in the long-term social and economic transformation of the Eastern Cape,” says Baphelele Mhlaba, acting executive for economic development and sector support at the ECDC.
The Vodacom Digital Skills Hub is designed to empower the next generation to consider a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and entails fun and engaging practical digital skills training for young people.
AWS Educate is one of the first programmes to be offered through the Digital Skills Hub and an additional programme to Vodacom’s various existing online learning platforms.
AWS Educate offers beginners a library of self-paced online training that covers a range of topics from cloud fundamentals, to artificial intelligence and machine learning.
“We are extremely excited about this initiative which seeks to inspire the next wave of digital innovators,” comments Matimba Mbungela, chief human resources officer at Vodacom Group.
“Our main aim with this initiative is to not only address the digital skills shortage on the continent, but to also nurture a pipeline of young talent and in turn advance Africa’s digital future, boosting opportunities for empowerment in an inclusive digital economy.”
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