Dr. Kola Ijasan is the Research Director at Research ICT Africa, where he leads the organisation’s research agenda, strategy development, and partnerships across the continent. He brings extensive experience in interdisciplinary research, combining social sciences, quantitative methods, and applied economics to generate evidence-based insights that inform digital policy, promote inclusive innovation, and amplify Africa’s voice in global digital governance discussions.
Before joining RIA, Ijasan was Project Lead of the Black Research Network at the University of Toronto, Canada, where he designed and implemented a strategic research programme centred on equity, mentorship, and community-engaged scholarship. He also served as an Associate Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Ijasan holds a PhD in Housing and the Built Environment from the University of Salford, an MSc in Data Science from the University of the Witwatersrand, and an MSc in Real Estate Development and Investment from the University of Greenwich. This unique combination of training underpins his interdisciplinary approach to research leadership.
With over 15 years of academic and professional experience, his work spans housing economics, urban development, digital transformation, and data-driven policy. His research interests include housing affordability and homelessness, digital inclusion, sustainability and ESG in the built environment, and the regulation of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence in Africa.
He serves on the Scientific Committee of the American Real Estate Society conferences, is a member of the South African Council for the Quantity Surveying Profession (SACQSP), and contributes to editorial boards and review panels of leading academic journals. Ijasan is also actively engaged in mentoring the next generation of African researchers.
