AfriGIS’s Helen Hulett on how tech can help resolve South Africa’s water crisis

Loading player...
Many municipalities in South Africa are struggling to maintain a reliable supply of clean water to households and industries. Thankfully, technology is here to help.
In this episode of TechCentral’s TCS+, Helen Hulett, newly appointed chief sustainability officer at geospatial information science specialist AfriGIS, tells Duncan McLeod about the Resolve Water project that she leads and how she and her team are working with businesses and municipalities to try to address a problem that has reached crisis levels in some parts of the country.
AfriGIS’s technology is able to have a real-world impact on this crisis, according to Hulett, who specialises in industrial water risk, water-related governance and social issues, and sustainability.
Hulett, who has consulted with leading companies on the topic – they include the likes of Coca-Cola, Illovo Sugar Africa, Sappi, Aspen Pharmacare and Sasol – said AfriGIS offers advanced mapping and data analytics tools to address water scarcity, improve resource management and support businesses in need.
In this episode of TCS+, Hulett also unpacks:
• Her background and why she took the role of chief sustainability officer at AfriGIS;
• What the field of geospatial information science involves and why it makes sense to apply it to this crisis;
• AfriGIS’s involvement in the Resolve Water project;
• How serious the water crisis really is in South Africa and what it will take to address it;
• The impact of the Resolve Water project so far, and how it’s using GIS technology to achieve its goals – including mapping, real-time data analytics and collaborative partnerships; and
• The role of artificial intelligence.
The interview with Hulett, who is passionate about the topic of water security in South Africa, is not to be missed.
18 Jun English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

Lessons from South Africa’s biggest cyberattacks

IT security breaches are on the rise in South Africa and worldwide, and with AI tools at their disposal, criminals are scaling up their attacks. With the risk of attack so high, organisations are forced to look beyond beefing up security – they must prepare for the unfortunate event where…
25 Jul 15 min

First Distribution’s guide to a bulletproof cyber crisis response strategy

In cybersecurity, prevention is always better than cure. However, organisations have to prepare for the worst-case scenario, one where their systems are breached by cybercriminals. This is the second in a series of three podcasts on how to manage cyber crises effectively when they happen. The first episode – watch…
24 Jul 11 min

How cyberthreats turn into cyber crises

In today's hyperconnected society, a cybersecurity crisis isn’t just a technical glitch; it's a profound disruption that can bring businesses, governments and even entire countries to a halt. For organisations to protect themselves effectively, they must understand what cybercriminals are capable of, where the vulnerabilities in their own systems are…
23 Jul 13 min

Vox’s Craig Blignaut on the data boom and the future of Wi-Fi

Data is like oxygen in the digital era, and people are using more of it. In 2025 alone, global mobile data usage is projected to reach 200 exabytes per month. That is 200 billion gigabytes of data consumed monthly by everything from high-definition video streaming to online gaming and IoT…
22 Jul 14 min

Samsung unveils significant new safety feature for A-series phones

Samsung Electronics recently launched the latest line-up of its popular Galaxy A-series of midtier smartphones, with the A26, A36 and A56 replacing the older A25, A35 and A55 models. One of the most notable new features of the A-series is a curated artificial intelligence module, dubbed Awesome Intelligence, that brings…
16 Jul 18 min