South Africa is entering a pivotal phase in its digital transformation journey, driven by accelerating adoption of cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, data-driven decision-making, and nationwide digital inclusion initiatives. Curated by Exito Media Concepts, a global leader in B2B technology platforms, the Digital Transformation Summit draws on deep industry insight and international best practices to enable forward-looking conversations that accelerate enterprise and government-led digital progress.
As both public and private sector organizations invest in modernizing legacy systems and expanding digital services, the country is laying the foundation for more agile, resilient, and innovation-led growth. These efforts reflect South Africa’s broader ambition to strengthen economic competitiveness, improve service delivery, and position itself as a digital hub for the African continent.
Simultaneously, this rapid digital evolution underscores critical priorities such as strengthening cybersecurity resilience, advancing data protection and regulatory compliance, upgrading digital infrastructure, and developing future-ready digital skills. Addressing these focus areas will be essential to ensure sustainable transformation, inclusive growth, and long-term technological leadership across industries.
Case Study: A Bank’s Digital Transformation in South Africa
One of South Africa’s most significant digital transformation journeys has been led by a fully digital bank launched to redefine retail banking through technology-driven services and data intelligence. Built without physical branches, the organization adopted cloud-enabled, API-driven platforms and advanced analytics from inception to support rapid scalability and highly personalized customer experiences, combining seamless digital channels with trusted human support.
Through a strategic partnership with a leading data and AI platform provider, machine learning and generative AI were embedded into core processes, enabling hyper-personal customer insights, improved risk management, advanced fraud prevention, and real-time behavioral analytics, increasing the effectiveness of customer initiatives by over 80 percent and delivering measurable business value across actuarial and service functions.
A centralized data platform empowered leadership teams to convert customer behavior and feedback into actionable strategy, accelerating product innovation, improvingoperational efficiency, and strengthening customer engagement, reflected in record sentiment scores and industry-recognised customer experience achievements.
These outcomes translated into rapid customer adoption, strong market confidence, and sustained growth in a highly competitive sector, demonstrating how digital-first design, data intelligence, and AI can drive meaningful transformation—closely aligning with the themes and real-world outcomes explored at the 45th Edition of the Digital Transformation
Summit – South Africa 2026
Event Overview
The 45th Edition of the Digital Transformation Summit – South Africa 2026 forms part of a global summit series hosted across more than 10 cities worldwide. As digital transformation continues to redefine how organizations operate and deliver value, the summit will convene 200+ C-level executives, technology leaders, and decision-makers to explore South Africa’s evolving digital landscape.
Through focused discussions on AI, Web 3.0, IoT, Quantum Computing, Cybersecurity, and other Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies, the summit will showcase practical insights, strategic frameworks, and real-world use cases designed to drive operational efficiency, informed decision-making, and a strong digital-first culture.
Date: 11th March 2026
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Venue: Indaba Hotel, Spa and Conference Centre, South Africa
Supporting Partner-
The Digital Transformation Summit – South Africa 2026 is supported by ISC2 Gauteng Chapter, reinforcing the event’s commitment to strengthening cybersecurity awareness, digital skills development, and collaboration within South Africa’s growing digital ecosystem.
Meet the Visionaries:
The 45th Edition of the Digital Transformation Summit – South Africa 2026 will feature some of the country’s most influential technology and business leaders, sharing insights on digital innovation, data-driven transformation, cybersecurity, and the future of enterprise technology. Below are a few of the distinguished speakers joining DTS South Africa 2026, alongside many more industry experts and thought leaders:
● Dhesen Ramsamy Group Chief Technology and Data Officer Old Mutual Limited
● Ridwaan Rasool Chief Information Officer Investec
● Phila Ndarana Chief Technology Officer Auditor General of South Africa
● Marcus Portmann Chief Information Officer
Discovery Limited
… and more
Key Topics to Be Covered:
Attendees will explore South Africa’s most pressing digital transformation priorities through focused discussions, including:
● AI & Digital Leadership: Aligning strategy, culture, and leadership to drive sustainable digital growth.
● C-Suite ROI Frameworks: Converting digital and AI investments into measurable business
outcomes.
● Legacy Modernisation: Overcoming system constraints to enable scalable, agile transformation.
● Cybersecurity & Digital Trust: Zero Trust adoption, AI-driven security, and evolving threat
landscapes.
● Future-Ready Workforce: Aligning talent strategies with digital goals, reskilling for the 4IR, and managing change.
● Smart Talent Acquisition: Leveraging technology to attract, retain, and develop digital talent.
● Digital Sustainability: Using AI, IoT, and cloud technologies to optimize energy use, reduce carbon impact, and automate ESG reporting.
● Inclusive Digital Growth: Expanding digital access through skills development, public-private partnerships, and low-bandwidth innovation to bridge the digital divide.
