The 2026 Future of Jobs Summit™ in Sandton did not begin with optimism. It began with urgency.

Held against the backdrop of, the summit brought together business leaders, policymakers, educators, innovators, investors, and youth voices at a moment when the country is confronting one of the deepest employment challenges in its democratic history.

The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released by Statistics South Africa paints a sobering picture: official unemployment has climbed to 32.7%, more than 8.1 million South Africans remain unemployed, and youth unemployment among 15鈥�24-year-olds stands at a devastating 60.9%.

But perhaps the most important insight emerging from the summit was this: South Africa cannot solve today鈥檚 jobs crisis with yesterday鈥檚 industries.

The global economy is reorganising itself at extraordinary speed around artificial intelligence, automation, renewable energy, digital services, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing, and entirely new forms of work and entrepreneurship.

New categories of jobs are emerging globally while traditional sectors face increasing disruption.

And yet much of South Africa鈥檚 national economic conversation remains anchored in the assumptions of the past. This is not simply a jobs crisis. It is a future-readiness crisis. That reality shaped the central focus of the 2nd Future of Jobs Summit™: Next10!, recognised in 2025 as an official T20 Side Event linked to South Africa鈥檚 G20 Presidency.

Rather than positioning itself as another conference filled with abstract policy discussions, the summit was designed as a national strategy platform focused on implementation, collaboration, and future industries.

Throughout the day, speakers repeatedly returned to one central theme: South Africa鈥檚 future competitiveness will depend on how quickly the country can align government, business, education, technology, and investment around scalable job creation ecosystems.

Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Agriculture and Rural Development Hon. Vuyiswa Ramokgopa opened the summit by outlining how Gauteng is working to build a more inclusive growth economy capable of creating opportunities for young people.

Lance Williams, Public Sector Lead at 麻豆原创 South Africa, challenged delegates to rethink how technology and human potential can collectively rewrite South Africa鈥檚 economic story in the age of artificial intelligence.

Melvyn Lubega, Head of the Digital Service Unit in The Presidency, highlighted the growing importance of digital infrastructure and the digital economy in expanding pathways to employment and entrepreneurship for young South Africans.

One of the strongest messages emerging from the summit was that no single sector can solve the unemployment crisis alone.

The 2026 CEO Dialogue™, CHRO Dialogue™, and CMO Dialogue™ brought together business leaders, HR executives, and marketing leaders to discuss practical interventions around youth employability, leadership development, skills alignment, and industry collaboration.

Additional contributions from leaders such as Prof Bismark Tyobeka of North-West University, Marc Lubner of Afrika Tikkun, Faith Mangope of the Faith Mangope Technology & Leadership Institute, and Barry Hendricks of SASCOC reinforced the importance of education, technology, sport, and social innovation in building pathways toward employment and inclusion.

Importantly, the summit was not positioned merely as a discussion platform, but as the beginning of a longer-term national movement around future readiness and collaborative action.

Among the key outcomes announced were:

• The development of a Future Industries Report™ for national stakeholders;
• The creation of a Future of Jobs Charter™ co-authored by delegates;
• New collaboration pathways between business, education, government, and youth-focused organisations;
• Practical recommendations on youth employment, entrepreneurship, digital inclusion, and future skills development;
• A roadmap positioning South Africa as a continental hub for future industries and innovation.

But perhaps the summit鈥檚 most important contribution was psychological rather than technical. At a time when unemployment statistics dominate national headlines and pessimism increasingly shapes public discourse, the summit sought to reposition South Africa鈥檚 narrative from decline toward possibility.

Because despite the severity of the crisis, South Africa possesses many of the ingredients needed to compete in the future global economy: a sophisticated financial sector, globally respected entrepreneurs, expanding digital infrastructure, deep natural resources, world-class creativity, a strong tourism brand, and one of the youngest populations in the world.

What South Africa lacks is not potential. It lacks alignment.

One of the most powerful historical reminders referenced during the summit was South Africa鈥檚 preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Between 2004 and 2010, the country created approximately three million jobs during a period of coordinated infrastructure investment, tourism growth, and national mobilisation.

The lesson remains relevant today: when South Africa aligns around a compelling national mission, progress accelerates. But the challenge facing the country now is arguably even greater.

South Africa is no longer competing only for tourists or investment flows. It is competing for relevance in a rapidly changing global economy increasingly shaped by technology, sustainability, innovation, and talent mobility.

Countries that fail to reposition themselves around future industries risk being left behind economically, technologically, and socially.

South Africa cannot afford to arrive late once again. Because ultimately, the future of jobs is not only about employment. It is about dignity. It is about inclusion. It is about restoring belief among millions of young South Africans that they still have a meaningful place in the future economy.

And perhaps the most important question raised by yesterday鈥檚 summit is this: Will South Africa continue defending industries of the past 鈥� or will it finally begin building the industries of the future?

Dr Nik Eberl is the founder and executive chair: The Future of Jobs Summit™ (Official T20 Side Event). He is also the author of Nation of Champions: How South Africa won the World Cup of Destination Branding).

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At least 24 countries went to the polls in 2024. A further 17 held elections in 2025. And 2026 continues the trend, with landmark contests in Ethiopia, Zambia, Uganda, and South Africa鈥檚 municipal elections. What each of the countries holding elections in 2026 have in common is expressed public support at the highest levels of government for the role of technology to improve citizens鈥� lives.

Across the continent, governments are investing heavily in digital identity systems, e-government platforms, and AI-enabled public services. The result is a profound shift in how governments function and how citizens engage in the democratic process. In the most recent UN e-Government Development Index (EGDI), . Mauritius and South Africa joined an elite group of countries with a very high EGDI, a first for the continent.

This is significant because digital government is not just about digitising and modernising administrative tasks but equipping governments with the ability to respond faster, serve better, and build stronger, more participatory relationships with citizens. These capabilities are becoming increasingly important given that citizens judge governments not only on policy intent, but on visible delivery outcomes.

From ambition to Digital Public Infrastructure

The scale of investment into digital government initiatives indicates that governments today see digital capabilities as core national infrastructure. The World Bank鈥檚 Digital Economy for Africa (DE4A) initiative has already delivered around $9 billion in projects . Mobile technologies alone , with further network investment expected to reach $77 billion by 2030.

This investment is paying dividends as is evidenced by several fundamentally transformational initiatives. In Ethiopia, the Fayda digital identity programme already has  out of a target of more than 90 million citizens. South Africa鈥檚 ) aims to transform government Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) through the implementation of a Digital ID, Data Exchange, and the first government payment and service integration projects. From 2028, MyMzansi intends to scale the technologies to the broader public sector, including health, education and business services.

The World Bank-funded  is reported to be approximately 55% complete and already fast-tracking broadband access, public service digitisation and strengthening the foundations for a single-login digital identity experience. Kenya offers possibly the continent鈥檚 most mature evidence of digital governance impact with its eCitizen platform, which now provides .

For citizens across the continent, the impact is tangible through improved access to critical services, more targeted social protection systems, and greater financial inclusion. For governments, the dividend is improved fiscal control, higher transparency, and better ability to allocate scarce resources where they have the greatest public impact.

A structural shift in how governments operate

Governments are increasingly looking to integrate data, applications, and AI into unified environments that allow them to scale services, improve decision-making, and respond faster to change. The ability to connect budgets, programmes, and citizen data in real time represents a structural shift in how governments operate.

This is a critical shift given their role in shaping nearly every citizen outcome. Health systems depend on the efficient moving of medicines, people, funding and information. Public safety depends on coordination across departments, faster access to reliable data, while meeting sustainability goals requires better planning, stronger monitoring, and the ability to align policy, spending, and implementation. In each case, disconnected systems slow governments down and limit their impact, while connected systems improve their ability to act.

Here, foundational technologies such as ERP, cloud and AI are proving central to governments鈥� digitisation drives. ERP systems help governments unify core functions such as finance, procurement, human resources, grants, and programme management. Cloud environments provide the flexibility and resilience needed to scale digital services quickly and securely. AI adds another layer of value by helping public institutions analyse large volumes of data, identify patterns earlier, automate routine tasks, and support better policy and service decisions.

Bringing these technologies together creates a system where every decision informs the next to significantly improve citizen experiences, and which has the potential to contribute to better service delivery outcomes. Equally important, it creates the controls, auditability and resilience needed to operate in an era of cyber risk, fiscal constraint and elevated citizen expectations.

From digital ambition to measurable delivery

The success of digital government initiatives will ultimately be measured by their demonstrable ability to serve people better.

Trust grows when citizens can access services more easily, receive information more quickly, and engage government through more responsive channels. When public institutions can draw on integrated data and analytics, they are better positioned to identify service gaps, respond to emerging needs, and allocate resources more effectively. Technology, in this sense, becomes an enabler of a more capable and more accountable government.

Countries making the most significant progress are showing that digital transformation works best when it is tied to practical outcomes. Digital identity drives inclusion, AI supports better decision-making, and ERP and cloud modernise administration and improve financial controls. The opportunity now exists for governments to build on these foundations with platforms that are secure, compliant, designed to scale and are future-fit.

Public institutions need technology environments that can integrate data across functions, support mission-critical processes, and adapt quickly to changing citizen and policy needs. They need the ability to improve productivity, optimise service delivery, and enhance policy decisions without adding new layers of complexity.

Critically, digital government cannot succeed without resilience. Beyond day-to-day efficiency, governments require continuity, cyber preparedness, and the ability to scale services safely during spikes in demand, whether driven by elections, emergencies, or economic shocks. Platforms must therefore be engineered for reliability and recovery, not only functionality.

Africa鈥檚 digital government push is about capacity, and whether governments can use technology to become more agile, more connected, and more responsive. In a year shaped by elections across the continent, digital transformation has become a civic priority as well as an administrative one.

The governments that will stand out are those that move from 鈥渄igital projects鈥� to 鈥渄igital public infrastructure鈥�: platforms that are trusted, secure, interoperable, and designed to deliver measurable outcomes at national scale.

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