Raisibe Morathi, the Limpopo-born chief financial officer of Vodacom Group, has seen the value of her direct stake in the South African telecommunications company climb above $5 million, after her holdings increased by more than a quarter during the year ended March 31, 2026.

Morathi’s stake rose by 117,610 shares, or 27.69 percent, to 542,390 shares at March 31, 2026, from 424,780 shares a year earlier. At the latest valuation provided, the holding was worth R81.9 million ($5.02 million), up from R56 million ($3.2 million) at the end of March 2025.

The increase was driven primarily by shares awarded through Vodacom’s executive long-term incentive plans, rather than purchases made by Morathi in the open market. The value of the stake also benefited from a 14.6 percent gain in Vodacom’s share price over the year and a 6.46 percent strengthening of the South African rand against the U.S. dollar.

Inside Morathi’s incentive awards

Vodacom’s remuneration disclosures show Morathi participates in several long-term equity incentive schemes—including the Forfeitable, Conditional, and Vodafone Performance Share Plans. Vesting depends on continued employment and performance metrics: free cash flow, total shareholder return, return on capital employed, and ESG targets.

During the 2026 financial year, Morathi was allocated R15.4 million ($0.94 million) under non-market-condition long-term incentives and other benefits. Vodacom also recognized an additional R5 million ($0.31 million) accounting expense for unvested performance awards subject to market conditions, according to the group’s executive compensation disclosures.

Shares awarded under Vodacom’s long-term incentive arrangements vest and convert into direct, unencumbered equity once three-year performance and retention hurdles are met. The 117,610-share increase in Morathi’s holding therefore reflects the vesting and settlement of executive incentive awards, rather than an out-of-pocket acquisition on the open market.

A veteran financial executive

Morathi, 56, was born in Polokwane, Limpopo Province, and became Vodacom’s CFO and an executive director on Nov. 1, 2020. She joined the telecommunications group after more than a decade as group CFO of Nedbank Group and has more than 30 years of experience spanning South Africa’s financial services and telecommunications industries.

A chartered accountant, Morathi holds an Advanced Management Programme qualification from INSEAD in France, a Higher Diploma in Taxation from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Master of Philosophy in Corporate Strategy from the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria. She also serves on the board of Safaricom.

Before joining Vodacom, Morathi held senior leadership positions at Nedbank Group, Sanlam Group and the Industrial Development Corporation. She serves on several Vodacom boards and has extensive audit committee experience. She also sponsors Vodacom’s Women’s Network Forum, which focuses on advancing women and young professionals.

Vodacom expands across Africa

During Morathi’s tenure as CFO, Vodacom has continued to expand its operations across African markets. For the year ended March 31, 2026, group revenue increased 10.1 percent to R167.7 billion ($10.4 billion), with Egypt, Tanzania, the DRC and Lesotho among the strongest contributors, while South Africa and Mozambique delivered resilient performances.

Group EBITDA rose 12.8 percent to R62.6 billion ($3.9 billion), while normalized EBITDA increased 14.2 percent. The EBITDA margin improved to 37.4 percent, supported by stronger profitability in Egypt and Vodacom’s international operations. Headline earnings per share climbed 22.9 percent to R10.53 ($0.65), aided by South Africa, Egypt, international operations and associates.

Customer growth added another layer to Vodacom’s 2026 performance. The group added 26 million customers during the year, more than twice its annual Vision 2030 target of 10 million, lifting its customer base to 237.3 million across eight African markets and prompting Vodacom to raise its Vision 2030 target to 275 million customers.