UR Global’s selection as a finalist for the 2026 CSI Legacy Awards in the Best Rural Community Project category stands as a powerful acknowledgement of a vision born in one of South Africa’s most underserved regions. At the centre of this remarkable story is Luleka, a social entrepreneur rooted deeply in the rural Eastern Cape. After more than a decade in the corporate mining sector, she chose a path that few would dare to take. In 2017, she resigned from a secure, successful career in Johannesburg to return home and confront the enduring inequalities she witnessed throughout her childhood. That decision led to the establishment of Ubuntu Renaissance Global, known as Urglobal, a pioneering nonprofit dismantling the digital divide in rural communities through mobility, innovation, and the philosophy of ubuntu.
UR Global emerged from Luleka’s conviction that technology should be a right, not a privilege. Growing up in a community where neighbours contributed to her school fees, she learned early that progress is a collective endeavour. These formative experiences, coupled with her academic qualifications and international fellowship exposure, shaped an organisation driven by social justice and technological inclusion. Her inspiration further deepened during South Africa’s democratic transition, which made it possible for her to pursue opportunities in urban centres. The desire to extend similar access to young people in rural communities became the catalyst for her return home and the creation of Urglobal.
The programme that Urglobal entered into the 2026 CSI Legacy Awards — the Mobile Rural Technology Park (MRTP) — is a groundbreaking initiative and the first of its kind in South Africa and across the African continent. Built on a mobility model, the MRTP brings technology directly to rural schools and communities, overcoming the entrenched spatial legacies of apartheid that continue to limit access to infrastructure, training, and opportunity. In villages where schools often lack computer labs, reliable electricity, or internet connectivity, Urglobal’s mobile classrooms arrive equipped with everything necessary to teach end-user computing, programming, and robotics. In doing so, the programme nurtures globally competitive rural citizens who embody innovation, critical thinking, and the ubuntu values of collective upliftment.
The MRTP began with a modest pilot in three schools and has since expanded to 32 schools across the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, with many others on a waiting list. The scale of its impact is striking: 9,485 participants have received training, including 8,818 students, 159 teachers, and 508 community members. The programme has reached nearly equal numbers of girls and boys, helping to close the gender gap in technology fields. Teachers who once lacked confidence in digital tools now integrate technology into their teaching methodologies, while community members use their certificates to secure employment opportunities. Some of the programme’s former students have progressed to university-level computer science courses — a direct testament to the transformative potential of early and equitable access to ICT.
Beyond training, Urglobal’s work reflects a broader mission: to recreate networks of support, mentorship, and shared growth, both locally and globally. The organisation has secured land in several rural areas, with long-term plans to build fixed Rural Technology Parks that showcase emerging technologies. Combined with the MRTP, these centres aim to establish rural communities not merely as beneficiaries of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but as active contributors to it.
The recognition Urglobal has received over the years — awards from SAB Foundation, GIBS, Barloworld, Womandla, Santam, and selections for prestigious international fellowships including YALI, MWF, and TechWomen — reveals the global relevance of its work. Yet for Luleka, being a finalist for the Best Rural Community Project is profoundly personal. It signals that the commitment she made nearly a decade ago, to leave the city and return home, continues to generate meaningful change. It acknowledges that the rural child is no less deserving of opportunity, and that innovation rooted in ubuntu can indeed shift the trajectory of entire communities. As Urglobal enters its tenth year, its work stands as a testament to courage, community, and the enduring belief that rural potential is not just worth investing in — it is worth celebrating.
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