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Graça Machel appointed trustee of the new Vodacom Foundation Board
African stateswoman and humanitarian Graça Machel has been appointed as a trustee of the newly established Vodacom Foundation Board, bringing her decades of experience in women’s rights, children’s rights, education and economic empowerment to the pan-African initiative.
Vodacom Group announced the formation of the new Foundation on 28 September, saying it is designed to consolidate and strengthen the social impact work of its eight foundations across its African footprint.
The seven-member board is chaired by renowned economist Dr Vera Songwe, with Machel joining as one of the trustees. The Foundation has set an ambitious target of positively impacting 50 million lives across Africa by 2030.
Machel’s role
Vodacom described Machel as the founder of the Graça Machel Trust and highlighted her extensive leadership in women’s and children’s rights, education and economic empowerment.
The company said her experience in development and civil society would strengthen the Foundation’s focus on inclusive social impact.
The Graça Machel Trust also welcomed the appointment, describing it as an opportunity for Machel to contribute to a pan-African initiative focused on connected health, education and digital skilling.
The Trust said the appointment reflects “the continued relevance” of Machel’s leadership and her contribution to efforts aimed at advancing education, economic opportunity and inclusive development across Africa.
A board built around social impact
The new board brings together expertise across economic development, public policy, technology, sustainability, governance and social impact.
According to Vodacom, the board will help guide the Foundation towards scalable, digitally enabled programmes in three key areas – connected health, connected education and digital skills development.
Dr Vera Songwe, who chairs the board, is joined by trustees including Machel, Vodacom Group Chief Officer for External Affairs Ayman Essam, Vodacom Group Chief Officer for Legal, Risk and Compliance Anna Isaac and Gerhard van Niekerk of Vodacom Mauritius.
The structure reflects Vodacom’s attempt to place connectivity and technology at the centre of its social investment strategy, rather than treating philanthropy as a separate arm of its business.
Machel’s long record of African leadership
Machel is one of the continent’s most prominent advocates for women, children and inclusive development.
Through the Graça Machel Trust, which she founded and continues to chair, she has supported initiatives focused on women’s economic advancement, leadership, governance and sustainable development across Africa.
The Trust currently operates across 18 countries, with its work centred on strengthening women’s leadership and economic participation.
Her appointment also adds a significant civil society and development voice to a board otherwise heavily represented by corporate, technology and governance expertise.
The bigger Vodacom ambition
Vodacom says the new Foundation is intended to bring together the work previously undertaken by foundations across its markets and create a more coordinated pan-African approach.
The company serves more than 243 million customers and its mobile networks cover a population of more than 596 million people across the continent, giving the Foundation a potentially significant platform through which to deliver its programmes.
For Machel, the appointment adds another major platform to a career that has consistently linked business, government, civil society and social development.
The focus now will be on whether the new Foundation can turn its stated ambition of reaching 50 million people by 2030 into measurable change in communities across Africa.
Economy
The Scorpion Kings’ burgers are all sold out, but the Scorpion Kings Live are back tonight on SABC 1
Before DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small were filling FNB Stadium with Amapiano, there was the hustle – and for Maphorisa, part of that hustle involved food.
Long before the Scorpion Kings name became synonymous with some of South Africa’s biggest musical moments, Maphorisa was finding different ways to make money while pursuing his music career.
“I used to deejay on weekends and I opened a tuck-shop at home just to have a cash flow and at school I used to sell sweets and lollipops,” Maphorisa said.
He explained that the money helped him save for his first car and travel between Pretoria and Johannesburg while working towards his music career.
So, years later, seeing the producer put his name to a burger collaboration feels like a rather delicious full-circle moment.
The Scorpion Kings – Maphorisa and Kabza De Small – teamed up with RocoMamas in September for the limited-edition King’s Feast, a menu inspired by their personalities, their music and plenty of South African flavour.
The collaboration ran until 30 September, meaning the burgers have now officially left the menu – but having tasted them, there is plenty to talk about.
Madumane Double – big, saucy and properly Mzansi
The DJ Maphorisa-inspired Madumane Double did not arrive quietly.
The burger featured a 200g double beef smash, chakalaka, chorizo and cheese, all packed into a brioche bun. RocoMamas positioned it as the “main drop” of the collaboration.
The first bite was very much about the beef, but then the chakalaka came through with that familiar South African kick.
Spicy, savoury and gloriously messy, it was the sort of burger that requires you to abandon any plans of eating neatly.
And there was something particularly kasi about that combination.
Chakalaka was not there as a gimmick. It gave the burger a distinctly South African personality, taking the familiar smashburger format and throwing in a flavour many Mzansi households know very well.
RocoMamas described the collaboration as burgers built by the two artists “the way they build a track – layer on layer until it hits.”
That description actually makes sense.
Papta Sting brings the heat
Then came Kabza De Small’s Papta Sting – and this one was for the spice chaser.
The burger combined southern-fried chicken with atchar and jalapeños on a brioche bun. RocoMamas summed it up neatly: “Sweet on the way in, sting on the way out.”
And that is pretty much the assignment.
The chicken brings the crunch, the atchar delivers that sweet-sour South African flavour, and then the jalapeño arrives with a little extra attitude.
It is the kind of burger that makes you pause after the first bite and ask yourself whether you really want another one.
Naturally, you do.
Kabza’s association with the burger also made sense because the collaboration was built around flavours that feel familiar to South African palates rather than trying too hard to reinvent the wheel.
It tasted like the kasi – with a RocoMamas twist
The King’s Feast was at its most interesting when it leaned into flavours that South Africans already know.
Chakalaka. Atchar. Pap balls. Big portions. Messy eating. Food made for sharing.
RocoMamas itself described the campaign as being inspired by the “grootmans of the yanos”, while its promotional material leaned heavily into the idea of bringing South African flavour to the menu.
That made the collaboration feel like more than simply putting two famous names on burgers.
Amapiano has always been closely connected to place, community, language, fashion, dance and everyday South African life. The King’s Feast borrowed from that same cultural vocabulary and put it on a plate.
And yes, chakalaka on a burger works.
There, we said it.
The timing was perfect
The RocoMamas collaboration formed part of the build-up to Scorpion Kings Live at FNB Stadium on 19 September.
RocoMamas was an official activation partner for the massive concert, alongside brands including SABC1, which was the official broadcast partner.
The King’s Feast was available throughout September before ending on 30 September.
So if you were planning to rush to RocoMamas today for a Madumane Double or Papta Sting, unfortunately, you have missed the boat – or in this case, the burger.
But there is another Scorpion Kings moment waiting tonight.
From the burger to the big screen
Scorpion Kings Live is making its television debut on SABC1 today, Saturday, 3 October, at 20:00.
The concert, which was staged at FNB Stadium on 19 September, will be broadcast for the first time on television, with a simultaneous broadcast on SABC Plus. SABC1 confirmed the broadcast as part of its partnership with the event.
For viewers who were not inside FNB Stadium, tonight is the chance to experience the scale of the show from home.
SABC Video Entertainment Marketing Manager Dichaba Phalatse described the concert as “more than a concert” and “a defining South African cultural moment”, saying SABC1 wanted to bring the energy of FNB Stadium to audiences across the country.
The Scorpion Kings themselves said: “Scorpion Kings Live was too special to be experienced for one night only.”
They added: “Now, for the first time, people across South Africa can relive that experience from wherever they are.”
And that is where the RocoMamas collaboration comes full circle.
The burgers may have disappeared from the menu, but the music is still very much on.
So, what was the foodie verdict?
The Madumane Double was the heavyweight – beefy, saucy, cheesy and carrying enough chakalaka to remind you that this was never meant to be just another burger.
The Papta Sting was the cheekier one – crispy chicken, atchar and jalapeño bringing the sweet-and-sting combination promised in the name.
Neither needed to pretend to be fine dining.
They were burgers.
Big, messy, youthful burgers with a distinctly South African accent.
And perhaps that was the point.
Maphorisa went from selling sweets and running a tuck shop to becoming one of the biggest names in Amapiano. Now his name has been attached to a burger loaded with chakalaka.
Not a bad journey.
The King’s Feast may have left RocoMamas on 30 September, but the Scorpion Kings are back on screen tonight.
So get your snacks sorted, turn up the volume and settle in for FNB Stadium from your sofa.
Just don’t blame us if watching Kabza and Maphorisa perform makes you hungry.
That part is on you.
