Building Better Cities in Africa
In the imagined city of Pazuri, Baby Pendo, a toddler with a visual impairment, plays safely along tree-lined streets. Mzee Busara, the city’s eldest resident, never goes hungry because neighbours take turns to care for him. The city’s inspiring leader, Mayor Asali, ensures progress in the city is measured by the level of care that all residents receive.
At MijiBora, which means Better Cities in Swahili, we dream of turning this vision of Pazuri into reality. MijiBora is a collaborative platform powered by Open Cities Lab (OCL) with foundational support from the UK Government. MijiBora connects city leaders, grassroots innovators, tech experts, policy shapers, and investors who believe in cities built on care, data, and collaboration.
Africa’s cities are growing faster than almost anywhere else in the world, fuelled by youth and migration. Yet much of this growth is informal, straining infrastructure and governance systems that were not built to keep pace with this rapid growth.
To meet this moment, cities need locally rooted, digitally enabled, and care-centred approaches. That is what MijiBora offers: a place where African cities can learn together, test tools, and scale what works, anchored in local priorities.
MijiBora operates through three pillars that reinforce each other to unlock impact.
We are building vibrant learning communities that bring together city officials and digital innovators. These CoPs help cities move from ideas to action by sharing lessons, building trust, and solving problems together.
In KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, MijiBora convened a Data Strategy Community of Practice in October 2025. Municipalities such as Tshwane, Ugu, Ray Nkonyeni, Msunduzi, and iLembe co-explored practical use cases to make data strategies real. They exchanged ideas on how to integrate digital transformation into local development plans, aligning with the digital transformational strategies of their municipalities.
Action starts with access. MijiBora curates and co-designs affordable, user-friendly tools that respond to African contexts. These include solutions for asset management, data strategy, and citizen engagement. Using a freemium approach, cities can test tools at no cost before scaling advanced features with technical support.
Our experts walk alongside city teams to turn strategies into practice. From digital maturity assessments to implementation planning, MijiBora’s technical assistance helps cities strengthen leadership, embed sustainability, and build confidence in using data for decision-making.
Access the Freemium Data Strategy Toolkit.
