Johannesburg has always been a city of builders – of infrastructure, of enterprise, and of possibility, and I like to think that I’m one of them. My career began not in a startup hub or a corporate boardroom, but on the floors of Transnet Engineering. There, surrounded by the challenges of local infrastructure and industrial constraints, I learned one of the most enduring truths of technology: its value lies in solving the problems that matter. From Transnet to Standard Bank and now to Altron, I’ve carried that same philosophy into every role.
At Altron, I’m fortunate to lead the group’s technology and innovation strategy at a time when our company, our country and our continent face complex but exciting challenges and, as we celebrated Altron’s 60th anniversary this year, we found ourselves reflecting on where our story started: Johannesburg, the city that raised us.
It was at this milestone celebration that I heard Michael Charlton describe Joburg not just as a city, but as a “community of hustlers, doers, and problem solvers.” He ended with a quote from Margaret Mead that resonated deeply with me: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.” That quote sparked an interesting challenge for my colleagues and I; to see how we can leverage technology and human ingenuity to turn the Joburg we love into the tech-driven African success story we know it can be.
Envisioning Joburg as an African tech city
For me, the ultimate opportunity in technology is not complexity, it’s inclusion. At Altron, we support a diverse ecosystem, but our most powerful insights emerge when we act as a connector, linking the agility of small businesses with the scale of large enterprises.
Consider Lefa Cash Loans; a micro-lender in Soweto that partnered with Altron FinTech to implement their NuPay DebiCheck solution. This empowered them to serve previously unbanked individuals while reducing default risk and improving operational efficiency. That’s financial inclusion in action.
Or Vodacom, which needed a way to harness internal ideas for innovation. With the help of Altron Digital Business, they launched IdeaTrigger, a crowdsourced platform that has already driven over 500 ideas, with half already implemented. This is what community innovation looks like in a modern enterprise.
Even in transport, our partnership with PUTCO – following a tragic accident – led to the installation of Netstar’s fleet management systems. With smart telemetry and in-bus cameras, the company achieved a 70% reduction in accidents and a 36% decrease in insurance claims – real change, driven by real data.
What binds these stories together isn’t just the tech. It’s the community mindset. In Charlton’s words, “If a collection of conditions is met, things don’t just begin to turn in the right direction, they explode into life.” At Altron, we see Johannesburg as that collection: the right place, the right people, the right problems.
Using data and AI to unlock real-world results
Having the right conditions in place is only the beginning. To unlock real impact, we must apply the right tools, starting with data and AI. Because in the real world, rebuilding Joburg means knowing what’s broken, understanding why, and predicting how to fix it before it fails again. That insight begins with data. And when we apply AI thoughtfully to that data, guided by the needs of our communities, not just the capabilities of our machines, we won’t just digitise problems. We’ll solve them.
Data is often called “the new gold,” but too often, businesses try to monetise it by selling it rather than unlocking its true value. I view that approach as short-sighted. The real value of data lies in extracting insights that improve operational efficiency, create customer-centric products, and build long-term competitive advantage, often through secure, collaborative data ecosystems that respect privacy. So much of the data we have just lies in data systems, unexplored and unleveraged to its full potential. Why not use it to solve everyday, real-world problems for the greater Joburg, which can help drive investment based on real information?
Data is also the cornerstone of everything we want to achieve with AI. But you can’t build a successful AI strategy on messy, siloed data. The first step is therefore putting the right data governance, structures, and access in place to get your data house in order.
Many tools we already use daily, like Microsoft 365, customer service platforms, and ERP systems, come embedded with AI capabilities. The next real opportunity with AI, therefore, isn’t to invent from scratch, but to adopt what’s already available and scale it with purpose.
This philosophy informs our AI strategy at Altron. We’re not just building AI solutions; we’re building an AI community. That means enabling access through foundational platforms like our Altron AI initiative, providing education, and unlocking practical use cases that empower people in their work and lives, not just data scientists. Our focus is on outcomes over complexity, making AI relevant, usable, and impactful across everyday environments, from small businesses and public sector offices to major enterprises.
And we’re uniquely positioned to do that. Altron isn’t tied to any single cloud provider, OEM, or global tech stack. That independence gives us the flexibility to choose the most effective tools, guided by the need, not the brand. In a market often constrained by vendor lock-in, this gives us room to move faster, design with intent and scale where it matters most.
In South Africa, necessity isn’t just a challenge, it’s the reality we design for. And the reality that drives the kind of speed and innovation that makes a real difference.
The right place, the right people, and the right problems
Johannesburg is our starting point, even though it’s not our limit. It’s a city of warm-hearted hustlers, collaborative doers, and fearless problem solvers. So, if we apply the right technologies to the right problems, through the lens of community and inclusion, we won’t just improve systems, we’ll ignite transformation.
Our Altron journey is rooted in this belief: that innovation must uplift, data must empower, and AI must serve. And as we move forward, I invite fellow technologists, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and policymakers to join us, not just in rebuilding Joburg, but in reimagining what tech can do for society.
Because the work we do today in Johannesburg can shape the future of South Africa and set a new benchmark for what’s possible for generations to come.
Dr Andy Mabaso, Group Chief Technology Officer, Altron
