The City of Ekurhuleni, in collaboration with National Treasury, the World Bank, and technical partners Konecta and Avo Vision, hosted a two-day digital strategy validation session in Tembisa aimed at reshaping township economies through technology.
The City of Ekurhuleni, in collaboration with National Treasury, the World Bank, and technical partners Konecta and Avo Vision, has concluded a two-day digital strategy validation session in Thembisa aimed at reshaping township economies through technology.
Dubbed “Mission Week”, the event brought together private sector stakeholders, civil society, and government partners to validate the city’s draft digital development strategy for Thembisa – one of five pilot sites in South Africa.
“The purpose is to validate the strategy draft. We are presenting it to stakeholders who are potentially going to be partners to the city,” said Yandisa Sokanyile, project lead and CEO at Konecta.
Yandisa Sokhanyile, CEO of Konecta and co-founder of WiTech Africa.
The strategy, based on the World Bank’s diagnostic framework, covers five pillars – digital infrastructure, digital platforms, digital finance, entrepreneurship, and digital skills.
Designed to drive digital and economic inclusion, the strategy seeks to improve access to public services and build community resilience.
“This collaboration is about more than technology – it’s about impact, inclusion, and creating pathways for township communities to thrive,” added Lethu Collen Masango, senior urban economist at the World Bank.
At the event, stakeholders worked together to co-develop an actionable implementation roadmap, with short- and long-term interventions aligned to local realities.
Lethu Collen Masango, urban economist at World Bank. (Photograph by Lesley Moyo)
Local innovators also expressed optimism. Samuel Mshimza, founder of Envirocare Tembisa, said the project will enable them to digitally monitor environmental hotspots.
“We’ll be able to access information on illegal dumping sites and the extent of pollution on water bodies,” he noted.
“This engagement allows Ekurhuleni to work with like-minded industry players to deliver on the strategy,” said Devanand Loykisoonlal from the city’s economic infrastructure division.
Mission Week laid the groundwork for scalable digital transformation starting in Tembisa, and with the plans to expand to the other metropolitans in South Africa.
