For Hluma Luvo Ralane, cities are more than places to live — they are engines of innovation, learning and opportunity. At 29, the urban development practitioner, researcher and project coordinator is helping shape the future of African cities by connecting research with real-world solutions.
As project coordinator for the Africa-US City Relations Project at the African Centre for the Study of the United States, Ralane works across academia, government, the private sector and international development to build partnerships that advance smart, sustainable and inclusive urban growth. He also coordinates the Smart Cities Lab, creating platforms where policymakers, researchers and industry leaders exchange knowledge, strengthen skills and develop practical responses to urban challenges. In 2025, he led the lab's Re-imagining Smart African Cities programme, exploring innovative approaches to resilient city development.
Ralane also supports the Charter Cities Institute, helping foster partnerships that promote economic growth and urban transformation across the continent.
His guiding philosophy comes from the advice: "You are your own brand." It has shaped his commitment to professionalism, integrity and purposeful leadership. Equally influential is his grandmother, Nokuola Christine Ralane, the first in her family to become a qualified teacher in the 1970s, whose resilience, belief in education and selfless sacrifices inspired his lifelong commitment to creating opportunities that benefit others.