Category: News

African urban futures: managing infrahub.africa

From March 2025 – March 2026, Belisa Rodrigues provided communications and project management consultancy services to the African Centre for Cities (ACC). In particular, to the African Urban Futures Project, where ACC serves as a key partner in this initiative alongside the Urban Futures Studio at Utrecht University and the Centre for Sustainability Transitions at Stellenbosch University.

An inspiring repository for infrastructure innovation

A main outcome of this collaboration is infrahub.africa, a database currently featuring an impressive case study library of 70 infrastructure initiatives across the continent. The platform functions as a repository for real world practice, illustrating diverse methods for addressing service delivery gaps in sectors such as:

  • Mobility and delivery networks
  • Sanitation and water distribution
  • Construction and sustainable energy
  • Soft and hard community infrastructure

These initiatives demonstrate practical, sustainable approaches to providing essential services in African cities.

Highlights from the March 2026 showcase

The African Urban Futures Showcase in Cape Town marked the conclusion of phase 1 consisting of four years of academic collaboration. Convened by Edgar Pieterse (Director, ACC), the event gathered leaders from local government, civil society, and academia to discuss the challenges and possibilities of urban experimentation. Key speakers included:

  • Alderman Eddie Andrews (Deputy Mayor, City of Cape Town)
  • Bushra Razack (Former CEO, Philippi Village)
  • Maarten A. Hajer (Director, Urban Futures Studio, Utrecht University)
  • Edgar Pieterse (Director, African Centre for Cities, UCT)

The event included a poster exhibition highlighting 16 selected projects from the platform, ranging from Nigerian solar charged power bank rentals to Kenyan overhead water piping systems.

Image credit goes to Andy Mkosi.

Brand refresh for African Centre for Cities

Digital transformation: a website and logo refresh for the African centre for cities

Belle and co. recently project managed a comprehensive online update for the African Centre for Cities. Our team brought together specialised website developers and graphic designers to align the organisation’s digital presence with its new strategic direction.

Comprehensive digital updates

The project involved upgrading several core elements of the digital platform:

  • User experience and design: Updating the visual layout to create a modern and accessible interface (in line with University requirements).
  • Search capabilities: Building a more robust backend search function to handle the extensive research database on this content heavy site.
  • Visual identity: Modifying the existing logo to improve versatility across digital platforms while preserving the iconic Adinkra pattern.
  • Security and server backups: Ensuring the site is secured, regularly monitored and has an appropriate backup process in place.

Collaborative process and outcomes

Over several months, the development team worked closely alongside the communication department and co-directors of the organisation. This collaborative approach ensured the updates met both technical and institutional goals.

The evolution of the logo highlights the final font update for 2026, which improves legibility and maintains a modern aesthetic. The positioning of the text allows for two versions to be used: horizontal and vertical without losing text legibility.

2026 updated logo (horizontal)
2026 updated logo (vertical)

Art spoke truth, SIKKA (Sudan) captured their legacy

August 2024

Earlier this year, the SIKKA Team approached Belle and Co. to support the team’s creative and sustainability endeavours.

The needs:

  • The focus on creativity was important, as all of the team are dispersed and displaced after the war, making it hard to find the creative motivation needed for a project of this nature.
  • In addition, the seed funding which was initially invested by Goethe Institut is coming to an end, and the project needs to develop its own funding streams.

The programme solution:

Over the August and September months, Belle and Co designed and delivered an intensive 8 week blended online course covering various topics related to creativity and business development. We used Zoom for our synchronous sessions, and Google Classrooms for our virtual learning environment, where all resources and recordings could be accessed asynchronously.

The initial 3 sessions focused on creativity including understanding the SIKKA Story, underlying motivations of the members of the team, building new ideas into the platform as well as future-casting the SIKKA business in 10 years time. A number of creative tag lines were invented to capture the essence of the SIKKA story, including:

Art spoke truth, SIKKA captured their legacy

SIkka, a portal to the hearts of its Sudanese people

Sikka is the “living archive” of a revolutionary people

The potential move from a project to an organisational structure then warranted a business plan or actionable roadmap. The five (5) last sessions worked methodically through each section of a business plan from an executive summary to the financial plan:

After learning about the contents of a business plan, the SIKKA team then had to build each section in turn and present their plans in the subsequent sessions until they had built a final business plan with financial forecasting.

As a way to prepare the team for external audiences, Belle and Co. invited key industry stakeholders (Professional Rwandese Performer, a Sudanese Musician, a Congolese University Professor on Cultural Management) to an online pitch session, in order to give the team a real world feel for presenting the SIKKA platform and its story. The audience was able to feedback in real time, so the team could go back and refine their pitch for future funders.

Belle and Co and the SIKKA team continue engaging online, and regularly update each other on the WhatsApp Group to inspire and motivate each other further.

Participedia School on Transnational Democratic Innovations

June 2024

The Participedia School on Transnational Democratic Innovations was hosted simultaneously at the University of the Western Cape [South Africa] and Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador [Canada] over 5 days from 10-15 June 2024

The School saw over 85 practitioners and students from 29 countries, supported by 18 facilitators, across two campus (South Africa and Canada), working on transnational democratic challenges to merge policy and practice. (And most of all cross pollination of experience and learning!)

Belisa Rodrigues, under contract with Innovation for Policy Foundation, helped facilitate a workshop session for delegates on participatory policy design methodologies.

Our public art journey in Madeira

February 2024

Background to the project

Belisa Rodrigues, a South African-born artist with Madeiran heritage, was invited to participate in the project Art of the Open Doors in 2012. She created a door that represented “African connections to Madeira” and encouraged the public to participate by writing their name on the door. Over a period of 11 years, 100s of people participated. The door was unfortunately painted over sometime in 2023. 

2012 – 2023. #10 Rua Santa. Title:  “Roots/Raizes: Escreve o Seu Nome Aqui se Tiveres origens em Africa e na Madeira” by Belisa Caboz Rodrigues

Rodrigues, has now been granted a new door and a new opportunity to share her work with the public. Door #9 at Rua Santa Maria (opposite the old door), in agreement with the owner, a new painting has been launched! 

In January, 2024, 12 years later, the theme of the door #9 displays the iconic figure of Blessed Virgin Mary standing on a serpent upon the world. A fitting symbol, as this door is situated in the road of the same name – Rua Santa Maria. Above the image it states in writing: “Holy Mary, Pray for Us”

2024, #9 Rua Santa. Title:  Maria “Santa Maria: Rogai por Nos” by Belisa Caboz Rodrigues

The artist explains that this iconic door captures the sentiment of our times, where the world is experiencing tremendous pain and conflict. And that we need to look toward peace and justice to prevail over evil – and to pray for one another while seeking answers to world peace.  

Rodrigues stated that the project’s success could not have been achieved without the help of those around her. She states: 

Thank you must go to the owner of door #9 for her faith and permission to paint her door, to Jose Zyberchema, the original visionary behind the door art project. Thanks also goes to Artium for keeping the art materials safe in their shop, as well as thanks to Ja Fui Jacquet for their donation of wine and canapes for the mini exhibition opening of the door to celebrate its completion at Porta #9 Rua Santa Maria. Lastly, a huge thank you to my mother and family for their unwavering support throughout.”

The door #9 was officially “open” to the public on Friday, 26th January at 6pm and an open invitation was included in the local newspaper “Diario Noticias” [ See below in Portuguese]:

About the artist:

Belisa Rodrigues is a South African with Madeiran heritage. She holds an MBA and a Fine Arts Degree from the University of Cape Town. She currently runs her own business called Belle and Company Pty Ltd (https://belleandco.co.za), that aims to support and train artists across Africa on business skills, deepening their impact and their leadership development.

To learn more about the ‘Project of the Open Doors’, please visit the website: https://www.arteportasabertas.com

Digital Standards Workshop – 25th October 2023

📣 British Council & Department of Basic Education’s Digital Standards Development Consultative Workshop on the 25th October, held at the Birchwood Hotel & OR Tambo Conference Centre. Project Lead is Belle and Co. (Belisa Rodrigues), supported by Research Lead from Limina Education Services (Dr Isabel Tarling). And supported by Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.

💡 What is the Digital Standards Project?

The Digital Standards (or Guidelines) Project is a collaborative co-creative process that draws together diverse stakeholders from the education sector to develop digital standards for learning and teaching in South Africa’s schools and beyond.

📌 Milestone 1 (March/April): Input Document

The 8 month journey has taken us from developing a baseline research called the “Input document” which undertook an integrative literature review approach of all standards and policies related to digital teaching and learning. The Digital Capital Map (which consists of Digital Competencies, Digital Agency and Digital Citizenship).

📌 Milestone 2 (7&8 June): Consultative Roundtable 1

The first broad consultative conference on developing digital standards for digital teaching and learning in South Africa. Around 80 education stakeholders attended from a broad spectrum including academia, private sector, government and civil society including schools.

📌 Milestone 3: Online Working Groups

From June until September, the 6 standards working groups included: (1) Learner, (2) Educator, (3) Education Leaders, (4) Parents & Communities, (5) Service Providers & (6) Institutions and Infrastrucuture Standards. 24 meetings in total were conducted.

📝 Once standards were drafted, these were analysed and converted into google forms for voting by the public. The draft standards are still available for public input. Visit the project website to weigh in: https://sites.google.com/limina.co.za/dsdproject/

📌 Milestone 4 (25th October): Consultative Roundtable 2

Most recently, the working groups and others interested in finalising the draft standards were invited to an all-day workshop to walk, step-by-step, through each draft standard and to vote on them.

💡 Why digital standards?

The White Paper on e-Education (2004) provided South African education with a vision and long-term goals to implement digital learning in all education spaces. We need digital standards for different role players and for institutions to operationalise the White Paper in a practical and contextually relevant way.

💡 What are standards?

Standards are different to policies. Policies provide long-term goals, visions and guidance to entire corporations or countries. Standards operationalise policies in short-term or medium-term goals that target specific role players or institutional functions and processes.

📩 Please email me: Belisa Rodrigues (rodrigues.belisa@gmail.com) or send a message to ssa.events@britishcouncil.org.za (Subject header: Digital Standards Project)

DSD-A4-booklet-25-October-finalDownload

Financial Literacy Hackathon winning teams

12, 13, 19, 20 July 2023

Over the last 5 years, Belle and Co. has been delivering unique and customised innovation workshops for Lifechoice’s Coding Academy students. Twice a year, these important sessions open up the creative potential of young learners who can practically apply their coding skills to solve a problem in their community.

Financial Literacy levels in South Africa

This year, the workshops focused on an important problem prevalent in South Africa today – lack of financial literacy skills (see also our previous hackathon here). According to a 2021 survey conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the level of financial literacy in South Africa is quite low, with only 42% of the adult population being financially literate. Financial literacy is the ability to understand and know how to manage personal finances effectively.

The Hackathon

Taking place over a 2-week period, each student group had to come up with tech-based solutions to topics such as budgeting, savings, investing, credit score and more. Supported by Belle and Co facilitator, Zikhona Madubela, each group was encouraged to use design thinking skills to delve into the problem and come up with “never seen before” solutions. To support them further, the participants were also taken on a journey to explore the fascinating intersection of “Money and Psychology” with an enlightening talk by the guest speaker and financial guru, Olivia Teek.

Image: Zikhona and Olivia.

The participants were not only inspired but also motivated to take control of their financial journeys. A highlight of the hackathon was witnessing the brilliant tech-based solutions that the dynamic participants developed during the intense brainstorming and coding sessions. A total of 10 innovative Financial Literacy “tech-based solutions” were produced, each addressing different aspects of financial education and empowerment.

🏆 The Winning Solutions 🏆

🥇 Group 1: Dollar Sense 📊

The talented minds behind Dollar Sense designed an ingenious budgeting tool that empowers individuals to manage their finances effectively. This solution provides a user-friendly interface and insightful features, ensuring that users can make smart financial decisions and achieve their financial goals with confidence. 🥇

Group 2: Invest Inn 💼

Invest Inn wowed the judges with their investment educational website, providing a comprehensive platform for novices to seasoned investors to enhance their knowledge about the world of investing. With easy-to-understand resources, interactive modules, and expert insights, Invest Inn promises to be a game-changer in nurturing a generation of savvy investors.

Our heartfelt congratulations go out to the winning teams, Dollar Sense and Invest Inn, for their exceptional efforts and well-deserved victories. However, every participant contributed significantly to the success of this hackathon by showcasing their passion for financial literacy and their determination to create meaningful solutions.

A special shoutout to Olivia Teek for sharing her invaluable wisdom on the psychology behind money management, which undoubtedly inspired all the participants to think differently about their financial choices.

Lastly, we extend our gratitude to Life Choices Coding Academy for providing the perfect platform to nurture young talents and foster a culture of innovation and learning. 🙏 We are truly proud of everyone who participated and supported this remarkable event. Together, we are shaping a financially literate future, one brilliant idea at a time. Let’s continue to champion financial literacy and empower individuals to secure their financial well-being.

FinancialLiteracy #EmpoweringYouth #HackathonSuccess #FinancialEducation #MoneyMatters #Investing #Savings #Budgeting #CreditScore #DebtFreeFuture

Developing Digital Standards for South African Schools

7&8 June 2023

#SchoolsConnect #DigitalStandards

Belle and Co. is the Project Lead on the Digital Standards Development project for all schools in South Africa.

Role players from all spheres are invited to participate in the development of the digital standards in two rounds of in-person roundtable meetings, and various online working group meetings between June and December 2023. Through iterative rounds of refinement and redevelopment, these role players will develop the digital standards to inform digital learning in South Africa’s schools and department of education offices.

Background

The project is funded through the FCDO’s UK Digital Access Programme which aims to catalyse more inclusive, affordable, safe and secure digital access for excluded and underserved communities in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil and Indonesia through sustainable models and enablers.

It’s a joint project by British Council, Department of Basic Education and supported by FCDO.

The determined need is that policy engagement around digital technologies in basic education will result in more available support for teachers and learners, and a more inclusive and effective basic education system at large.

Overview of the DSD Project

The ultimate output of the project is the development and dissemination of a Digital Standards document published making recommendations in digital technologies for teaching and learning at school level.

The aim is that a simple 2-page ‘standards document’ will be produced which can be used by the sector – in policy, as a support tool for school leaders + schools; in teacher development.

Research Input Document

To assist in this Standards Development Process, a research document called “Input Document”, has been developed referencing research and policy initiatives in this area of standards development across the globe.

This is available for you to read here: Developing Standards for Digital Learning and Teaching Input Document

June Consultative event (7&8 June 2023)

Over the last 2 days, over 100 education stakeholders from all over South Africa descended on Gauteng to attend the inaugural Digital Standards Development consultative event. The objective of Day 1 was to create shared understanding of Digital Citizenship and Digital Standards making; Day 2 objective was to start to work on standards for various role -players and institutions.

The 2-day event concluded with the “Operationalisation of the Online Standards Working Groups”. Participants who were particularly keen to be part of the on-going development and building of standards were encouraged to join a thematic working group and agreed to meet 4-6 times over the coming months.

Ultimately, after all the input has been received from working groups, a draft set of standards will be presented to the second consultative event on the 25 & 26th October 2023.

Whereafter, a final standards document will be launched and disseminated in early 2024.

DSD-Workshop-Programme_latestDownload

Our hearts are with Sudan

23 April 2023

Our hearts are with Sudan. This blog is a little different to what you have read on our site before…

Belle and Co. has built a strong bond with Sudan and its peoples through its work over the years. In fact, if our Alumni WhatsApp groups are anything to go by, we have trained over 150 creative and social enterprise leaders since 2019.

Creative Campus Sudan #1 (2019)

UpScale Social Enterprise Sudan (2020)

Creative Campus Sudan #2 (2020)

Creative Campus Sudan #3 (2020)

Creators Hubs Sudan #1 (2021)

Creators Hubs Sudan #2 (2022)

Next Level Fariq Project (2023)

Through these rich and engaging interactions over the years, I have been privileged to meet some of the most creative and visionary leaders in all my experience to date. Despite years of oppression, loss of loved ones, a broken system of governance and being cut off from the outside world, here you have young people in their hundreds, with hope for a better future … that resulted in a revolution and the fall of a dictator. Powerful. And a small crack of hope was opening up. We were slowly building a better and brighter future – together.

It feels like all the work of the last few years since the revolution has come tumbling down. And it is heartbreaking. How much can the human spirit endure after years of torment?

Our thoughts and prayers are with Sudan. And to all the community builders, creative visionaries, passionate people that I have met, I love you and I hope that you and your family are safe and that better days will be here soon. You all have come too far to give up now, and we hope to be reunited soon.

Inshallah, Belisa

Ground Up: Local workshop on SE indicators

14 April

As part of the EU Erasmus Plus Programme called “Ground Up: Social Entrepreneurial Ecosystems for Resilient Cities”, Belle and Co. designed and delivered a 1 hour local workshop for Social Enterprises in South Africa. The response was overwhelming with 50 RSVPs streaming in, curious to know more about the project,

The project outcome: A set of indicators to measure the health of the Social Enterprise Ecosystem.
Number of partners countries involved: 11 Partners (North Macedonia, Costa Rica, South Africa, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Poland, Denmark, Ecuador, Serbia and Peru)
Number of months: 18 month project (Jan 2022 – until July 2023)

A project of this nature is inherently tricky, as it is trying to capture a set of mainly quantitative indicators to measure how well supported the Social Enterprise Ecosystem is in a given local (city, region, nation).

The 4 pillars the project focused on include:

  • Human Capital
  • Funding and Finance
  • Support Systems
  • Quality of Life

The local workshop, held on the 14 April 2023, was to showcase the Social Enterprise Ecosystem Assessment Tool that the SA team had developed so far and the data sources they had managed to find. It was also an opportunity for the ecosystem themselves to validate or dispute the tool and its sources.

WORKSHOP VIDEO

If you missed this session, you can view the whole workshop video here: