Papama Mtambeka

Papama is an incoming PhD candidate whose research explores the digital transformation of informal savings systems—particularly stokvels—as vehicles for women’s empowerment in South Africa. Her work sits at the intersection of feminist technology studies, financial inclusion, and indigenous knowledge practices. Grounded in African feminist frameworks such as Nego-feminism and snail-sense feminism, her research critically examines how women in rural and peri-urban communities negotiate and adapt digital tools within deeply communal and relational financial structures. She is particularly interested in how women blend traditional practices with emerging technologies to sustain trust, accountability, and agency amidst digital change. Her research positions digitally transforming stokvels as critical spaces for understanding inclusive innovation, resilience, and localised digital transformation. Her broader academic interests include feminist and decolonial approaches to ICT4D, and participatory design methods that prioritise the lived experiences of marginalised communities in reimagining equitable digital futures in the Global South.