“Yabelana”, age-inclusive ICT innovation for service delivery in South Africa

North-West University

“ Yabelana” (referring to “sharing”) is a first-of-its-kind self-sustaining technology artefact with context-specific service delivery information, accommodating both older (push button) and smartphone technology. Three interrelated trends informed this innovative development:

1. Older persons in sub-Saharan Africa are the fastest-growing population group on a (population-wise) very young continent;
2. Concurrently technology is leapfrogging throughout Africa – across socio-economic groupings, across generations, and
3. Deficits in service delivery, affecting older persons disproportionally.

Older South Africans’ proper inclusion in technology for accessing information and services often lags for various reasons, primarily due to the underreporting and misrepresentation of their use of cell phone technology largely driven by ageism. This project explored ICT not only beyond youth but also as an Intergenerational Contact Zone (ICZ). With older generations in mind as end-users, the Yabelana ICT ecosystem consists of a website, an app and a USSD code, promoting access to a service delivery repository for all generations to support well-being across the lifecourse. The process of developing and implementing the Yabelana artefact has been published as an open-access book by Springer: Age-inclusive ICT innovation for service delivery in South Africa: A developing country perspective https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-94606-7.