Dr. Sean Sithole (PhD) is an academic researcher and research fellow. His recent research work includes being a Balsillie Scholar with the Technology Governance Initiative at the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) in Canada, focusing on the fusion of financial technology (fintech), digital remittances and financial inclusion. His Post-doctoral research fellow work under the MiFOOD (Migration and Food Security in the Global South) network has focused on a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) funded project on the COVID-19 pandemic, food security and migration; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) funded projects on migration, remittances and food security; and Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) funded project on Remitting for Resilience (R2) focusing on migrant remittances, climate adaptation and food security. He has coordinated research on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate change, and migration, and is also involved in journal reviewing, postgraduate lecturing, and supervision. Dr. Sithole’s research and collaborative work have been supported by or conducted with organisations such as the Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility in Africa (SIHMA), Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), United Nations agencies, and the European Commission. He has served on the Executive Committee (EXCO) of the Young African Statisticians Association and was formerly the Country Coordinator for the Zimbabwe Chapter under Stats SA’s African Young Statisticians ISIbalo capacity-building programme. His research interests include digital remittances, mobile transfers, the synergies between international migration and urban food security, the nexus between social media and migrant networks, and the role of information and communication technology (ICT) in development.
Sean Sithole
Balsillie Scholar Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Development (ISD), University of the Western Cape (UWC)
Balsillie Scholar
Balsillie Scholar
June - August 2025
June - August 2025
Sean Sithole
Balsillie Scholar
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Development (ISD), University of the Western Cape (UWC)
Select Publications
- Sithole, S., Tevera, D., & Dinbabo, M.F. (2025). Digital Technologies and Food Remitting Patterns Among Zimbabwean Migrants in South Africa During COVID-19. In: Crush, J., Chikanda, A., Ramachandran, S. (eds) New Directions in South-South Migration. International Perspectives on Migration. Springer, Singapore. pp. 447–468.
- Sithole, S., Dinbabo, M., & Tevera, D. (2025). Sustainable Development Goals and Food Remittances: COVID-19 Lockdowns, Digital Transformation, Lessons and Policy Reflections from the South Africa-Zimbabwe Corridor. African Human Mobility Review (AHMR), 10(3).
- Sithole, S.T., Tevera, D., & Dinbabo, M. F. (2025). Feeding Hope: Zimbabwean Migrants in South Africa and the Evolving Landscape of Cross-Border Remittances. Global Food Security 44.
- Sithole, S.T., Tevera, D., & Dinbabo, M. F. (2025). Resilience and Adaptation: Struggles to Access Urban Food During the COVID-19 Pandemic by Zimbabwean, Somali and DRC Migrants in Cape Town. MiFood Research Brief No. 12, Waterloo.
- Sithole, S.T., Dinbabo, M.F., & Tevera, D. (2025). COVID-19 Pandemic Precarity and Urban Food Insecurity: Zimbabwean, Somali, and DRC Migrants in Cape Town, South Africa. MiFood Research Brief No. 16, Waterloo.
- Sithole, S.T., Tevera, D., & Dinbabo, M. F. (2024). Digital Technologies and Food Remitting by Zimbabwean Migrants in South Africa. MiFOOD Policy Brief No. 10, Waterloo.
- Sithole, S.T., Tevera, D., & Dinbabo, M. F. (2024). Uncovering International Migration and Remittance Patterns in Southern Africa During COVID-19: Compelling Evidence from Cape Town, South Africa. MiFood Research Brief No. 8, Waterloo.
- Crush, J. & Sithole, S. (2024). Enforcement and Exclusion: COVID-19 Policies, Urban Migrants, and Food Insecurity in Pandemic South Africa. MiFood Paper No. 23, Waterloo.
- Crush, J. & Sithole, S. (2024). South Africa At War: Food Insecurity, Migrant Exclusion and COVID-19 Policies. MiFOOD Policy Audit No. 1, Waterloo.
- Sithole, S. (2023). Migrant Networks, Food Remittances and Zimbabweans in Cape Town: A Social Media Perspective. African Human Mobility Review, 9(1), 33 – 55.
- Sithole, S., Tevera, D., & Dinbabo, M. F. (2023). Emerging Digital Technologies and Cross-Border Food Remittances of Zimbabwean Migrants in Cape Town, South Africa, During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic. MiFood Paper No. 9, Waterloo.
- Sithole, S., Tevera, D., & Dinbabo, M. F. (2022). Cross-border food remittances and mobile transfers: The experiences of Zimbabwean migrants in Cape Town, South Africa. Eutopía. Revista de Desarrollo Económico Territorial, (22), 10-32.
- Sithole, S., & Dinbabo, M. F. (2016). Exploring youth migration and the food security nexus: Zimbabwean youths in Cape Town, South Africa. African Human Mobility Review (AHMR), 2(2), 512-537.
Education
- PhD, University of the Western Cape (UWC)
- MA, University of the Western Cape (UWC)
- Digital Marketing certificate course, University of Cape Town (UCT)
- Social Media Marketing certificate course, University of Cape Town (UCT)
- BA, Special Honours, University of Zimbabwe (UZ)
- BA, University of Zimbabwe (UZ)