Insights & Digital Policy · November 2025
What the G20 Outcomes Mean for Township Digital Transformation.
Lessons from the Thembisa Digital Development Strategy and how global digital priorities translate into local action.
Johannesburg G20 Summit
Infrastructure
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): The Systems That Enable Service Delivery
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Digital Identity
Secure identification systems
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Digital Payments
Intergrated payment flows
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Online Services
Accessible municipal platforms
The G20 emphasised the transformative potential of digital public infrastructure, highlighting the importance of secure, interoperable systems that support digital identification, digital payments, online services and integrated data flows. This focus closely mirrors the priorities outlined in the Thembisa Digital Development Strategy, which calls for strengthening municipal digital platforms, improving user experience, expanding access to online services and building trust and awareness among residents.
The diagnostic study revealed that existing city platforms such as My Ekurhuleni and e-Siyakhokha remain significantly underutilised, largely due to low digital literacy, limited public awareness and design features that do not adequately reflect user needs. The G20's emphasis on digital public infrastructure reinforces the Strategy's call to evolve these platforms into accessible and reliable tools that support essential community functions, from paying municipal bills to registering businesses and accessing real-time information.
Infrastructure
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): The Systems That Enable Service Delivery
Building Tomorrow's Workforce
Empowering youth through digital literacy and AI readiness
One of the clearest signals from the G20 was the recognition that future competitiveness depends on strengthening digital and emerging technology skills, including AI readiness, computing power and talent development. The Thembisa Digital Development Strategy highlights the same reality. Digital literacy gaps remain one of the greatest obstacles to meaningful participation in the local economy, many schools continue to lack adequate digital equipment and reliable connectivity, and both youth and informal entrepreneurs require targeted support to adopt new technologies.
The G20 declaration's focus on capacity-building, upskilling and AI-related training therefore aligns strongly with the Strategy's recommendations for scalable digital skills initiatives across all age groups, with particular attention to youth, women and township-based entrepreneurs.
Inclusive Growth
Gender and Youth Inclusion: A Shared Commitment
Women in Tech
Breaking barriers, leading innovation, and driving ecosystem growth through inclusive leadership
Youth Empowerment
Building pathways to digital skills, entrepreneurship, and meaningful economic participation
Both the G20 outcomes and the Thembisa Digital Development Strategy recognise that women and youth are not merely beneficiaries of digital transformation but essential drivers of it. The Strategy's diagnostic work revealed that women entrepreneurs continue to face significant digital access barriers, while young people show a strong appetite for technology yet remain under-supported in acquiring the skills and tools they need. It also underscored the importance of designing digital strategies that reflect lived experiences and the realities of community members.
Konecta: Leading by Example
The G20 reinforces these priorities through its commitments to promoting women's entrepreneurship, reducing youth unemployment and closing gender gaps in digital access and innovation. Konecta's role in this work reflects the value of representation and inclusive leadership: as a 100% women-owned organisation operating in the TMT sector, Konecta demonstrates how women-led leadership strengthens digital research, ecosystem-building and community-centred innovation. Konecta's fieldwork further emphasised the centrality of gender and youth perspectives, demonstrating how global momentum toward inclusive digital policy aligns with the practical needs and aspirations of township communities.Collaboration
Innovation Ecosystems: Collaborating Across Sectors
The G20 underscores the importance of international partnerships in science, research and innovation, a theme that aligns closely with the collaborative approach advocated in the Thembisa Digital Development Strategy. The Strategy highlights the need for ecosystem-building through partnerships that bring together government, the private sector, academia and community stakeholders, while also creating space for local innovation hubs and digital entrepreneurship networks to emerge.
Government
Private Sector
Academia
Community
The message is clear: innovation does not flourish in isolation. It depends on shared responsibility, connected institutions and environments that allow ideas to be tested, refined and scaled. This collaborative spirit mirrors the very process through which the Strategy was developed, grounded in co-creation, community engagement and meaningful contributions from partners across multiple sectors.
Across every theme examined at the G20 Summit, there is a direct resonance with the realities faced in Thembisa. The alignment is not abstract or theoretical. It shows that the township's digital challenges and opportunities mirror global development priorities. This creates a unique moment where international policy direction and local strategy development reinforce one another, opening the door for deeper collaboration, investment and shared innovation.
Looking Forward
Conclusion: From Global Vision to Local Transformation
The alignment between the G20 outcomes and the Thembisa Digital Development Strategy demonstrates a powerful truth: global digital priorities and township-level realities are profoundly interconnected. The G20's focus on digital inclusion, infrastructure expansion, public digital platforms, skills development, MSME support, gender and youth empowerment and the strengthening of innovation ecosystems reflects the very issues identified in Thembisa. The Strategy responds to these priorities with grounded, evidence-based pathways designed to translate global commitments into meaningful local action, beginning at community level.
As South Africa continues to participate in and influence global digital conversations, Thembisa stands as a living example of how digital transformation can be shaped by real people, real challenges and real aspirations. The progression from strategy development to implementation offers a tangible bridge between international policy direction and the lived experiences of township communities. Township digital transformation is not a peripheral issue. It is central to national development, economic resilience and inclusive growth. Thembisa's Digital Development Strategy work illustrates how local action can lead, with the G20 outcomes aligning closely with its direction.
References
- G20 South Africa Summit. (2025). G20 Leaders' Declaration: Johannesburg, South Africa, 22–23 November 2025. Government of South Africa / G20 Secretariat.
- World Bank; City of Ekurhuleni; Konecta. (2025). Thembisa Digital Development Strategy: Township Digital Economy Diagnostic Report. South African Cities Support Programme (SACSP).
- <World Bank; City of Ekurhuleni; Konecta. (2025). Digital Thembisa Bulletin – Issue 1. SACSP./li>
- World Bank; City of Ekurhuleni; Konecta. (2025). Digital Thembisa Bulletin – Issue 2. SACSP.
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