By Seati Moloi, CEO and Founder of Khoi Tech

On 21 March 1960, in Sharpeville, ordinary South Africans gathered in protest: unarmed, hopeful, and resolute. By the end of that day, 69 people lay dead.
They did not die for technology.
They did not die for markets or metrics.
They died for something far more fundamental: the right to exist with dignity. The right to be seen. The right for their children to dream beyond limitations.

Sharpeville was not just a tragedy. It was a cry. A demand to be recognised as fully human. Today, as we reflect on Human Rights Day and approach Freedom Day, we must ask ourselves an uncomfortable question:
What does it mean to be free in a world that is increasingly digital?

Because for millions across Africa, the struggle has evolved. It is no longer only about political rights. It is about economic participation. It is about digital inclusion. It is about whether an African child, born in Soweto, in Kibera, in Lagos, has the tools not just to consume the future, but to build it.

Digital Access is the New Economic Freedom

For too long, Africa has been the subject of the global digital story, not its author. The global economy is shifting rapidly. The digital economy now accounts for a significant share of global GDP and continues to outpace traditional sectors. Yet Africa remains on the margins, not because of a lack of talent, but because of a lack of access, infrastructure, and intentional support.
This is not just a connectivity gap.
It is a participation gap.
And participation is power.
Without it, we risk raising a generation that is digitally present but economically invisible. Connected, but not empowered.

From Inclusion to Enablement: The Power of Intentional Partnership

If we are serious about transformation, then we must move beyond symbolism. As outlined in the partnership between Telkom and Khoi Tech, what we are witnessing is not charity. It is intentional enablement.
There is a saying:
Telkom’s approach reflects the philosophy: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
• Not just funding, but market access
• Not just mentorship, but procurement
• Not just development, but integration into real economic systems

Khoi Tech’s journey, from a small, Soweto-based innovator to a nationally recognised supplier, is a testament to what becomes possible when opportunity meets preparation.
This is what transformation looks like when it is done with purpose.

Why Local Innovation is a Matter of Dignity

Africa’s future cannot be imported because dignity cannot be outsourced. There is a deep difference between using technology and owning it. Between consuming innovation and creating it. Khoi Tech’s evolution, from wearable devices like the Afriwatch1 to integrated IoT and data-driven solutions, is rooted in this belief. These are not abstract innovations. They are solutions born from lived realities:
• Monitoring patients in under-resourced healthcare systems
• Protecting workers in high-risk industries
• Preventing fatigue-related accidents on African roads

Local innovation draws from collective experience. It understands context in ways that imported solutions often cannot.

Technology, Human Rights, and the Right to Participate

Human rights are often spoken about in historical terms. But their true test lies in their relevance to the present. Today, dignity looks like:
• Access to life-saving health data
• The ability to work safely
• The opportunity to build, scale, and compete

These are not luxuries. They are extensions of the same rights that were fought for in Sharpeville.
Because what is freedom, if it does not include the ability to participate meaningfully in the economy?

By supporting a 100% black-owned OEM like Khoi Tech, Telkom is doing more than enabling a business. It is expanding the circle of participation and ensuring that more South Africans are not just included, but empowered.

Freedom Requires Infrastructure, Not Just Ideals

As we approach Freedom Day, we must recognise that political freedom without economic infrastructure is incomplete. To build a truly inclusive future, we must:
• Invest in local manufacturing and intellectual property
• Support black-owned technology enterprises
• Create clear pathways from innovation to commercialisation

This is not only a moral imperative. It is an economic one. Africa’s digital economy holds immense potential, but only if we choose to invest in our own capacity to build it.

From Possibility to Participation

The story of Khoi Tech is not powerful because it is exceptional. It is powerful because it is possible.
It is a glimpse into what Africa can become when we choose to back our own. But it also leaves us with a responsibility. Because the question is no longer whether Africa can participate in the digital economy.
The question is: Who gets to participate in the future we are building?

Because true freedom, in the 21st century, is not just the right to exist.
It is the right to innovate.
The right to compete.
And the right to build.
And perhaps, if we listen closely, we will hear the echo of Sharpeville. Not as a memory of what was lost, but as a reminder of what must still be built.