By 
By Ross Moyo
Zimbabwe’s intellectual property office has no active USPTO training program — but that could change.
This was revealed after Ross Moyo of TechnoMag Zimbabwe interviewed Katherine M. Hiner, the UnitedStates of America’s USPTO’s IntellectualPropertyIP Attache for Sub-SaharanAfrica: “Your biography mentions capacity building for patent and trademark examiners. Are there ongoing programs with ZIPO, that’s the Zimbabwe Intellectual Property Office? And what’s been the impact so far?” TechnoMag asked.
Hiner responded immediately with: “We don’t have any ongoing Partnerships right now with ZIPO. We are always really eager to hear from the offices and the stakeholders in each country to understand the challenges and how we can plug in for potential collaboration.”
The Data: Why Capacity Matters
While the question focused on copyright and music, Hiner pivoted to patents — an area where capacity gaps are stark.
She announced a new model the USPTO just launched in Africa: the Accelerated Patent Grant Agreement, APG.
In July 2025 at WIPO’s General Assembly in Geneva, the USPTO signed the first APG with an African IP office — Ghana.
How it works:
1. Speed: Cuts review time for offices with few examiners.
2. Efficiency: Allows a US patent holder to request Ghana grant the same patent based on the already-granted US right.
3. Training: Comes with examiner training and collaboration built in.
Hiner said this is the template USPTO wants to replicate. The goal is to reduce backlog and help African IP offices process applications faster to attract investment.
“We’d love to hear more from the Zimbabwe market,” Hiner added, signaling USPTO is open to talks with ZIPO.
The move fits into the broader “IP for Growth” year-long program that started in Geneva, then moved to workshops in Lagos and Johannesburg with music industry stakeholders to show how IP drives GDP.
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