Eshmael Mpabanga, country head and SVP at Intellect Design.
SA-India co-operation is shifting from diplomacy to delivery, with the recent G20 Leaders’ Summit pushing both countries into a more action-driven partnership.
This is according to Eshmael Mpabanga, country head and SVP at Intellect Design, who adds that both countries now recognise that real progress lies in practical collaboration, particularly in digital public infrastructure (DPI), fintech and cross-border financial modernisation.
“India’s success with population-scale digital systems has become a blueprint for emerging markets. South Africa, with a sophisticated banking sector and strong regulatory environment, is now actively exploring how similar frameworks can unlock inclusion, competitiveness and regional trade,” he continues.
Ahead of the summit, hosted in Johannesburg on 22 and 23 November, ITWeb reported on positive sentiment expressed by South African-based tech firms, including Naspers and Cassava Technologies.
Spokespeople cited the opportunity presented by the summit to accelerate digital inclusion and empower Africa’s digital ecosystem with services and solutions.
Mpabanga suggests that SA and India share several common priorities, including financial inclusion, SME empowerment, payments modernisation, resilient digital infrastructure and cross-border trade enablement.
“This alignment has essentially created a ‘fast lane’ for collaboration,” says Mpabanga. “India brings proven digital frameworks at massive scale, while South Africa brings a globally respected financial services industry and deep regulatory maturity. When you combine Indian engineering scale with South African banking sophistication, you create a partnership that can move quickly and deliver significant economic value.”
He believes the strongest connection between SA and India today is not political but technological – particularly in the financial sector.
Mpabanga says banks in SA are prioritising:
- Core banking modernisation
- Cloud-native, composable architecture
- Next-generation digital channels
- Risk and compliance automation
- AI-driven customer engagement
“These are exactly the areas where Indian fintech and banking technology providers have excelled globally. Platforms developed in India and deployed worldwide are now finding resonance in South Africa because they directly address the sector’s need for agility, lower cost of ownership and rapid digital transformation,” he adds.
The G20’s focus on AI for sustainable development underscores a growing concern: the success of AI-driven innovation hinges on strong cyber security, says Richard Ford, group CTO at Integrity360.
He argues that as AI becomes embedded in sectors from climate forecasting to financial inclusion, unsecured systems pose a systemic development risk – particularly in countries like SA.
Ford says SA’s AI adoption in energy, agriculture and public services makes data integrity “the currency of progress”.
“Every dataset, model and automation layer has to operate within a framework of integrity and accountability. Without that assurance, development outcomes and growth trajectories become worryingly – perhaps even dangerously – unpredictable. AI systems that optimise resources or forecast economic trends rely fully on the quality and security of their data. When protected, they deliver stronger impact, helping achieve climate goals, improve access to services and support fair growth. When they’re left exposed, they create systemic risks that undermine trust and the very foundations of sustainable development.”
Ford adds that every AI system relies on data inputs that shape its decisions, from predicting energy demand to allocating healthcare resources. If that data is tampered with or biased due to weak cyber security controls, the AI’s outputs become unreliable. The result is flawed decisions that can amplify inequality rather than reduce it.
In the private sector, research shows that data breaches linked to AI-driven analytics systems are already costing South African companies millions.
He cites IBM’s 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report, which found data breaches linked to AI-driven analytics systems are costing South African companies not only in remediation, but in lost trust and reputational damage.
The report also reveals that South African organisations still face one of the longest breach detection timelines globally (averaging 255 days), signalling that investment in digital transformation continues to outpace advances in cyber security resilience.
Ford argues that secure, transparent and accountable governance is essential. He says data protection, compliance with SA’s Protection of Personal Information Act and board-level oversight must be central to AI deployment.
Governance, he adds, should be built into systems from the outset, through security-by-design, visibility into all AI models and cross-functional oversight.
He warns that “shadow AI” and poor internal awareness remain major risks and says cyber security should be treated as a driver of trust and competitiveness rather than a cost.
The stakes, Ford notes, are especially high in Africa, where AI has the potential to address structural challenges in water management, healthcare and public services. Secure systems can strengthen inclusion, while insecure ones risk widening social and economic divides.
Ford says the G20’s renewed attention to AI governance should push South African policymakers and business leaders to prioritise protection alongside innovation.
“The foundations we secure today will determine how far AI can take us tomorrow,” he concludes.
