Vodafone 2026 Annual Report

Empowering People continued 37

Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2026

Strategic report

Governance

Financials

Other information

Digitalising SMEs and Public Sector SMEs play an essential role in driving economic growth, innovation and employment. In Europe, SMEs represent more than 99% of all businesses 4 , contributing €5.4 trillion annually to the EU economy, with micro-enterprises generating approximately €1.8 trillion of this value 5 . In Africa, SMEs are a large and growing business customer segment, with significant potential to generate business to business revenue. Vodacom’s largest markets, South Africa and Egypt, have around 5.1 million formally registered SMEs 6 . Digitalisation is a key driver of productivity and competitiveness for SMEs, yet many still lack the skills, resources and guidance to fully adopt digital tools. Public-sector organisations across Europe and Africa also face rising expectations to deliver efficient, secure and citizen‑focused digital services. Through our infrastructure and specialist expertise, we help governments and SMEs accelerate their digital transformation. These two sectors offer significant opportunities to scale our digital services while contributing to broader economic and societal progress. SME services Strategy We seek to support SMEs on their digital transformation journey by making advanced digital tools accessible, affordable and easy to adopt. Vodafone Business provides a one-stop shop for digital solutions – cyber security, cloud, connectivity, unified communications and IoT – reducing SMEs’ reliance on inhouse IT expertise. Through V-Hub, we offer free expert guidance, tools and tailored action plans to help SMEs adopt digital solutions confidently. We work with channel partners who provide local, specialised support to SMEs, ensuring proximity, ease of access and trusted relationships throughout the digital buying journey. Digital advisory support for SMEs is governed at a Vodafone Business leadership level and embedded within market-level digitalisation programmes.

In Africa, Vodacom implements localised SME value propositions offering bundled services (connectivity, financial services and digital services) along with onboarding, implementation and after-sales support. These propositions address the specific needs of underserved SMEs in the market, positioning Vodacom as an ICT partner of choice. Our strategy is based on research with SMEs and mid‑market organisations, helping us refine propositions and pinpoint barriers to adoption. This year We expanded our SME digitalisation programme across our markets, facilitating an increase in the number of SMEs accessing digital advice through V-Hub (site traffic, advisory calls and action-plan creation all increased). We strengthened collaboration with local channel partners to scale reach and support SMEs with more complex digitalisation needs. Number of SMEs receiving advice 2026 (million) 2025 (million) V-Hub unique users 1,2,3 0.57 0.38 Looking forward Over the coming year, we plan to launch agentic AI solutions tailored to support SMEs with their digitalisation journey. We also intend to review our strategic objectives and action plans, ensuring they are aligned with our capabilities and priorities. We will also review the metrics used to measure and report progress. Public Sector Services Digital government services play a central role in building inclusive, resilient and efficient societies. As citizens and businesses increasingly expect streamlined, digital-first interactions with governments, public sector organisations are accelerating their digital transformation programmes. Governments are also seeking sovereign solutions to safeguard their workloads and data. We are well positioned to support these requirements through robust connectivity, digital services and an

understanding of public sector sovereign needs across our European and African footprint. Strategy Our strategy for the public sector focuses on enabling governments to modernise digital services in a way that is secure, scalable, and fit for the future. This includes providing secure core connectivity, built to meet public sector standards and offering sovereign services, such as cloud solutions, supported by professional and managed services to reduce complexity. We work closely with technology partners to combine capabilities and provide smart digital solutions for public sector operations. We also maintain a focus on state and local government where our footprint, products and expertise are best aligned to customer needs. Vodacom and its partners offer tailored solutions across a range of verticals such as healthcare, utilities, agriculture, and education amongst others. Scalable digital platforms such as government e-payment, grant and pension disbursements, citizen engagement and e-administration solutions enhance government efficiency by streamlining service delivery and financial transactions. This year We focused on building foundations for long-term public sector growth by developing a refreshed public sector strategy. This work included aligning market priorities, reviewing the maturity of our offering and determining where we can best support government organisations. We also continued to develop core offerings aligned to emerging government needs and advanced work on engagement approaches across our markets. Looking forward We intend to begin implementing our refreshed public sector strategy to support connectivity and digitalisation for European governments. In Africa we will continue to grow public sector revenue by delivering tailored digital solutions that address market-specific challenges, strengthening Vodacom’s position as a trusted long-term partner for development.

Across both Small and Medium- sized Enterprises (‘SMEs’) and the public sector, organisations face persistent challenges in adopting the digital tools and skills needed to operate effectively in a rapidly evolving landscape. Technologies such as cloud, data analytics and AI offer major opportunities to enhance efficiency and service quality. Breaking down barriers such as limited resources and digital skills gaps improve accessibility and adoption.

0.57 million SMEs have received advice on V-Hub 1,2,3

Notes: 1. S tarting from 01 April 2025, Vodafone UK is excluded from the figures due to the VodafoneThree merger. 2. V-Hub is our online advisory platform for SMEs. 3. U nique users are visitors to the V-Hub site spending at least 30 seconds viewing an article, participating in advisory calls and generating action plans.

4. Eurostat, 2024. 5. Statista, 2025. 6. Capmas, 2025; BMR, 2025.