• Vodacom Business in partnership with Anani Technologies and Unisa have launched a call centre.
• The initiative is designed to help address the country’s unemployment crisis.
• At launch more than 50 percent of the employees at the centre are women, Vodacom confirmed.

The unemployment crisis in South Africa, especially when it comes to the younger population in the country, is well documented at this stage. While several steps need to be taken to address this at a national scale, Vodacom Business is looking to play a small part by partnering with Anani Technologies and Unisa on the launch of the Anani Call Centre.

Vodacom Business explains that through this partnership much-needed jobs are being created, with all parties working towards uplifting communities while serving the staff and students of Unisa. Also worth highlighting, given that it is Women’s Month in SA this August, is that more than 50 percent of the employees at the centre are women.

“Since the call centre went live, it has exceeded standard call centre metrics, boasting a 98% service level, an 85% first contact resolution score, and an abandonment rate of only 0.74%, a result of extensive training of Anani consultants, who are well-equipped to meet the needs of Unisa’s students and staff,” noted Vodacom Business in a release shared with Hypertext.

“Through partnerships such as this one, we wanted to tackle the scourge of unemployment that the country is currently facing. Not only are we aiming to create employment, but we also want to create transformative opportunities for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) through the use of technological solutions, thereby advancing socio-economic progress in South Africa,” added Videsha Proothveerajh, director of Vodacom Business (seen in the header image above).

Further unpacking some of the investments that Vodacom Business has made of late, the company pointed out that in the past financial year, the Vodacom Group has invested R8.8 billion in enterprise development and preferential procurement of small enterprises.

Of this, R7 billion has been spent on 1 037 qualifying small enterprise (QSE) and exempted micro enterprise (EME) suppliers, such as Anani Technologies.

“We believe SMEs are critical for economic growth and employment. By providing them with business support and innovative technology, we aim to build an inclusive, sustainable, and trusted digital society where individuals and businesses can thrive,” concluded Proothveerajh.

[Image – Provided]