As a data and tech lawyer, Zwakele has advised multinational companies and governments on data protection, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance. With experience in regulatory affairs and public policy across telecoms, financial services and tech in Africa and the Middle East, he leverages his expertise to drive data- and technology-driven solutions that empower African communities while fostering global partnerships.

Leveraging his legal expertise and background, Zwakele is driving transformational initiatives with Indigenous communities in South Africa to help them locate themselves within the digital environment. His Indigenous Knowledge and Data Empowerment Initiative, is an ambitious effort to comprehensively archive and activate the Camagu Indigenous Knowledge System (C-IKS)—an ancestral knowledge framework of the baNtu people in South Africa. This initiative forms the foundation of his broader mission to reorganize Indigenous human, environmental, and collective resources for health equity, environmental stewardship, and economic productivity, particularly in rural areas, through the development of sustainable C-IKS smart villages.

With a firm grounding in social justice and sustainable innovation, Zwakele is committed to advancing African agency in global conversations. His work bridges policy and law, technology, and Indigenous-driven solutions, ensuring that African knowledge systems are not only preserved but actively leveraged to build a more just, prosperous, and self-sustaining future.