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| Vodacom Tanzania Plc Network Director, Andrew Lupembe (left), and the company’s Director of External Affairs & Regulatory, Zuweina Farah, speak during the launch of the company’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report for the financial year ended March 2026. The report highlights a 24% reduction in carbon emissions and significant investment in network modernisation. |
FY2026 ESG Snapshot shows diesel consumption down by two million litres and energy savings increasing more than six-fold
Dar es Salaam - September 3, 2026: Vodacom Tanzania Plc has released its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Snapshot for the year ended 31 March 2026, reporting a 24% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions alongside the largest network modernisation programme in the company’s history.
During the year, the company invested TZS 3.5 billion in energy-efficiency initiatives, delivering energy savings of 18,340 megawatt-hours (MWh) — more than six times the 2,861 MWh saved in FY2025.
Scope 1 and 2 market-based emissions fell to 18,445.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e), from a restated 24,285.6 tonnes. Diesel consumption also declined by 24%, from 8.6 million litres to 6.6 million litres.
The reductions were driven by a major network modernisation programme that replaced legacy radio equipment across 1,808 sites in just seven months — work equivalent to roughly three years of normal deployment — together with improved grid stability that significantly reduced generator runtime at the company’s data centres.
LESS ENERGY, WIDER REACH
Vodacom Tanzania’s network consumes approximately 169.5 GWh of energy annually across more than 3,800 sites, including 2,190 in rural areas. Base stations account for 78.9% of total energy consumption, making improvements in network equipment efficiency one of the company’s most significant opportunities for reducing its environmental footprint.
During the year, 169 off-grid sites were connected to the national grid.
At the Kwale data centre, a power upgrade from 11kVA to 33kVA reduced generator runtime from 18 hours a day to just two hours, resulting in an 88% reduction in diesel consumption at the site.
The company also credited the Government of Tanzania’s hydropower expansion programme, which reached 75% completion during the year, with contributing materially to improved stability in national power availability.
Renewable sources accounted for 57% of Vodacom Tanzania’s total energy consumption. The company maintained its commitment to matching all purchased grid electricity with renewable energy sources, keeping Scope 2 market-based emissions at zero.
Vodacom Tanzania also renewed its ISO 50001 energy management certification with no non-conformances raised, while Scope 3 emissions declined to 94,944 tCO₂e from 100,455 tCO₂e.
“The environmental gain came from doing the core engineering properly, not from a separate sustainability project,” said Andrew Lupembe, Network Director at Vodacom Tanzania. “Replacing old equipment across 1,808 sites gives the customer a faster connection and the country two million litres less diesel burned. Those are the same decisions.”
COVERAGE AND CONNECTION
Vodacom Tanzania’s 4G population coverage reached 76.3%, with the network serving 27.7 million customers following the launch of Tanzania’s first 5G service.
Smartphone penetration stood at 46.7%, while 325,415 customers acquired devices through retail financing partnerships. For customers without smartphones, a new AI-assisted service enables access to internet-based information through SMS and voice calls, extending digital assistance to more people, including those in rural areas.
M-Pesa served 14.1 million financial inclusion customers during the year. M-Koba, Vodacom’s digitised savings group platform whose members are predominantly women, reached 299,420 active groups, with total savings increasing by 81%.
The Vodacom Tanzania Foundation reached 2.9 million beneficiaries.
Working with the Tanzania Institute of Education, the company zero-rated the national teacher development platform, enabling 121,832 teachers to access professional development materials without incurring data charges.
Vodacom Tanzania also supported the planting of a further 80,000 indigenous trees in the Kahe 2 Forest on Mount Kilimanjaro.
The company recorded its fourteenth consecutive year without a workplace fatality. Its network modernisation programme involved 411 workers travelling more than 1.7 million kilometres, with the first phase completed without a fatality or major incident.
Vodacom Tanzania also maintained its ISO 27001 certification for information security and recorded zero anti-competition and anti-money laundering fines during the year.
“The numbers in this report tell only part of the story,” said Philip Besiimire, Managing Director of Vodacom Tanzania. “Behind every connection is a life being changed — a teacher accessing learning materials at no data cost, or a savings group that no longer has to keep cash in a tin. We will continue to hold ourselves accountable to the people of Tanzania who trust us every day.”
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