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Nikolas Badminton is a world-renowned keynote speaker and futurist consultant that shows you the future trends that shape impactful organizations, trillion-dollar companies and progressive governments. We discuss the type of future city that Africa needs, explosive growth expected in Africa, lessons from global smart city initiatives, the world in 400 years, cities in 2040 and shifting mindsets from ‘’what is’’ to ‘’what if’’.

Ronak Gopaldas is a Director at Signal Risk, an exclusively African risk advisory firm. His work focuses on the intersection of politics, economics and business on the continent. We discuss the biggest economic challenges currently facing the African continent, how we’ll get to the predicted Mega Cities in Africa, if the African Continental Free Trade Agreement will survive the pandemic, how Africa has managed the pandemic relative to other regions of the world, where Africa features in post-pandemic geopolitics and practical strategies Africa can implement to thrive in the post-pandemic world.

Steve Apps is a Smart City and Industry 4.0 technology expert. He’s a past CTO of Huawei Southern Africa for government services. He was also executive for ecosystems and solutions at SqwidNet, rolling out the SIGFOX IoT network across South Africa. We explore what will stop us from becoming smarter cities, financial models and how future cities can be funded, improving public/ private sector collaboration, current state of IoT in Africa, civilization engineering, the role of Blockchain in Africa’s future, what Steve would change if he had a magic wand and his vision of future African cities.

Musa Khumalo is Group Head for Shared Services at the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. He is also chairperson of the Risk and Audit Committee at the Gauteng Department of Economic Development. We discuss Smart City initiatives at City of Tshwane, e-Tshwane statistics, future plans for e-Tshwane, how the City of Tshwane has managed to do more than many other municipalities and his vision of the city in 2040.

A collection of interviews with 12 though leaders: * Bronwyn Williams, Partner, Flux Trends * Musa Khumalo, Head: Shared Services, City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality * Craig Kesson, Chief Resilience Officer and Chief Data Officer, City of Cape Town * Geci Karuri-Sebina, Associate, South African Cities Network * Bob van Bebber, Director, Boogertman + Partners Architects * Omeshnee Naidoo, Chief Information Officer, City of Cape Town * Dmitry Pozhidaev, Global Advisor, UN Capital Development Fund * Juanita Clark, Chief Executive Officer, Digital Council Africa * Jonathan Wilson, Urban Data Project Manager, South African Cities Network * Oualid Ali, President, Future Cities Council * Siphelele Ngobese, Researcher Inclusion and Well-being, South African Cities Network * Thabo Mofokeng, President, Information Technology Association of South Africa

Craig Kesson is Executive Director for Corporate Services at the City of Cape Town. He’s also the Chief Resilience Officer and Chief Data Officer. We explore the data driven strategy at City of Cape Town, overcoming the general fear of data in public departments, emerging disrupters impacting the City and how it will remain resilient, his definition of a Smart City, what he would change if he had a magic wand, his hopes for the City 20 years from now.

She’s a digital strategy consultant, an Africa enthusiast and Africa's digital transformation maverick. We discuss key takeaways from her book, the 4IR, the future of work and education, inclusive cities, overcoming the digital divide, personal disruption and staying relevant in an era of constant change.

We discuss 15 new cities that are planned for Uganda, International municipal investment fund, insights into the book: ‘Reflections on African Cities in Transition’ and his chapter called ‘Urbanization and the Quality of Growth in Uganda: The Challenge of Structural Transformation and Sustainable and Inclusive Development’, emerging disruptors for Ugandan cities and much more.

Prof. Nabil El Kadhi is Vice President of Academic Affairs at Khawarizmi International College and Vice President of the Future Cities Council. We explore the schema for future education, UAE education system and what Africa can learn from it, challenges that must be overcome, the difference between smart education and digital education, homeschool vs school/ university, readiness of the classic university for the future, definition of a smart city and a smart citizen, cities in 2040 and advice for students stuck in the old education system

Jonathan Wilson is Urban Data Project Manager at the South African Cities Network (SACN). We discuss the SACN Smart Cities paper series, the importance of open data for cities; siloed operations and how to solve challenges to urban data management, Common Data Framework for Cities, open data projects in South Africa, cities in 2040 and the decline of urbanisation.

Neil du Preez is Founder at MellowVans. He is passionate about urban transport, and the development of last mile delivery solutions. We discuss last mile delivery, safer cities, autonomous driving technologies, local manufacturing and the need for a better education system.

Dr. Geci Karuri-Sebina is a multi-disciplinary scholar-practitioner currently occupied in several capacities working at the intersection between people, place and technological change, focusing on the global south. We discuss her work, stakeholder collaboration, smart cities, inclusive cities, what she would change if she had a magic wand and her vision for cities in 2040.

Dr. Oualid Ali is President at the Future Cities Council. He's a futurist, technologist and future cities expert. We discuss trends and opportunities for African Cities, Artificial Intelligence as the ‘new electricity’, Smart Cities and its challenges in Africa, Smart City projects in Africa, the future of education and his vision of African cities in 2040.

Siphelele Ngobese is Researcher: Inclusion and Well-Being at the South African Cities Network and is responsible for the Urban Safety Programme. We explore the Urban Safety Programme and its objectives, accomplishments and how they are inspiring action. We look at current urban projects incorporating inclusion, wellbeing and safety. Finally we consider challenges of stakeholder collaboration and Siphelele’s hopes for cities in 2040.

Bronwyn Williams is a partner at Flux Trends. She's a Futurist, Economist and Business Trends Analyst. We explore her definition of a Smart City, trends in Intelligent Cities, Smart Cities for Real People, the role of Blockchain in Africa's future, changing the current education system, how she would implement Radical Economic Transformation and what cities and social structures will look like in 20 years.

Lisa Reynolds is the Chief Executive Officer of the Green Building Council South Africa. We explore her background, how she is leading the GBCSA in challenging times, the Green Recovery and why it is important, trends and opportunities for cities, legislation she would change with her magic wand, the Green Building Convention 2020, advice for woman in the built environment and words of encouragement.

Juanita Clark is the Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Council Africa. We explore the rebranding of the FTTX Africa Council to the Digital Council Africa, draft rapid deployment policy, benefits of good local municipal internet connectivity, challenges and opportunities to get stakeholders on the same page, legislation she would change if she had a magic wand, the future of education and work and her vision of future cities.

Thabo Mofokeng is President of the Information Technology Association of South Africa (ITA) and a Non-Executive Director at MICT SETA. We explore the role of the ITA, opportunities and challenges for IT and ICT business, the future of technology and jobs, interacting with a computing environment, collaboration and his view of cities in 2040 and colonising Mars.

Bob van Bebber is a Director at Boogertman + Partners Architects and overall winner of the 2019 SA Professional Services Awards. We explore his background; challenges and solutions for businesses, the built environment and cities; legislation he would change if he had a magic wand; his definition of a ‘Smart City’; how to make cities more inclusive; his hope for future cities and words of encouragement.

She’s the CIO at the City. We explore digital projects at the City of Cape Town, technology’s role in improving service delivery and quality of life, the importance of real time service delivery, tech investments, collaboration between municipalities, private public sector collaboration and her vision of the city in 2040.