I gave a presentation titled Rooted to RISE: African Knowledge as the Catalyst for Digital Transformation. In this invited presentation at the University of South Africa (UNISA). I explored how Africa’s digital transformation can be strengthened by drawing more deliberately on the continent’s own knowledge systems, social realities and ways of organising economic and community life. I argued that digital transformation in African contexts should not simply reproduce models developed elsewhere, but should respond to local institutions, cultural values, informal economic activity and the everyday realities through which people engage with technology.
The presentation examined the value of African knowledge for understanding technology adoption, digital work, entrepreneurship and innovation, while highlighting the importance of developing theories and approaches that emerge from African experience. Its central message was that Africa can participate more meaningfully in the digital future when technological innovation is connected to the knowledge, capabilities and institutional contexts already rooted within its societies.