Investigating the conceivable recipients of the fourth industrial revolution: an experience of Balobedu’s indigenous people

The advent Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is anticipated to revolutionise all sectors of human development, particularly the economy, education, agriculture and healthcare propelled by the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), robotics and disruptive technology. South Africa like many other countries of the world is expected to adopt the 4IR to transform the lives of its citizens. In light of this, in this paper we argue that the adoption of the 4IR will also benefit the South African indigenous communities. Thus, we use the experiences of the Balobedu indigenous people of Ga-Ramotšhinyadi village from Mopani District in the Limpopo Province of South Africa to establish the conceivable recipients of the 4IR. This study employed a qualitative research approach with a sample of 12 participants who were 6 youth, and 6 elderly knowledge holders sampled from Ga-Ramotšhinyadi village using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews as the sole data collection method and analysed through thematic analysis. In determining the recipients of the 4IR the paper discovered that youth, educated community members, and entrepreneurs are highly to benefit from the adoption of the 4IR. This paper concluded that the 4IR can be integrated with South African education curriculum, particularly in primary schools which can assist in building technologically advanced communities. The paper further accentuated that the South African indigenous communities may use 4IR to integrate with their indigenous knowledge which may be achieved through collaborative initiatives with government agencies.