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By Ross Moyo
Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has stepped up a national campaign to drive mass adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) among ordinary Zimbabweans, in a strategic shift that could redefine how the country works, learns and does business.
Econet Ai, a wholly owned subsidiary of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, is spearheading the campaign, taking AI literacy directly to schools, small businesses, churches and social gatherings across the country.
The move marks a decisive pivot from the company’s initial inward-looking application of AI within its own operations — in network optimization, customer service and fraud detection — to an outward drive to democratize AI for the public.
The company is deliberately replicating the playbook it used to turn EcoCash from a novel product in 2011 into Zimbabwe’s dominant mobile money platform now used by millions.
“We want everyone who has a smartphone to start using AI, and that is nearly 70% of our base. Unfortunately, you can’t access AI without a proper smartphone,” said Econet Ai Chief Executive Officer Mr Navdeep Kapur.
Zimbabwe has over 15 million mobile subscriptions and smartphone penetration is estimated at between 65-70%, one of the highest in Southern Africa, providing a fertile ground for the campaign.
You CAIMEX: 100 AI Models, One Platform*
Central to the campaign is CAIMEX, Econet’s flagship AI marketplace platform described as the first of its kind in Africa.
CAIMEX gives users access to over 100 curated global AI models — including large language models, image generators, coding assistants, translation and productivity tools — in one place. Crucially, it allows users to select the _cheapest_ model for a particular task, optimizing for cost and performance.
Instead of paying expensive subscriptions in US dollars to ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, users purchase AI tokens locally that power their interactions. The tokens can be bought via EcoCash and used across all models on the platform.
The company says CAIMEX can answer questions and carry out tasks ranging from helping Ordinary and Advanced Level students with Mathematics and Science, to helping university students draft research proposals, to enabling small business owners to write business plans, to enabling church pastors to find a Bible verse in seconds or prepare a sermon.
Ambition: Most AI-Savvy Nation In Africa
Econet says its ambition is bold: to make Zimbabwe the most AI-savvy country in Africa, matching adoption levels seen in China, Singapore and the United States where up to 70% of citizens use AI tools on a daily basis.
The company argues that wider adoption will directly increase national productivity by helping people complete tasks more quickly, make better decisions and work more efficiently, contributing to greater national prosperity in line with Vision 2030.
Econet Group Chief Executive Officer Dr Douglas Mboweni said Zimbabwe is already leading the continent in everyday AI interaction, powered by Econet’s own products.
“Zimbabweans are using AI every day through Econet products like Yamurai, EcoChat, and EcoFarmer. Students are already using AI for study. I don’t know of an African country that has reached our level of AI interaction and adoption; Zimbabweans should be very proud,” said Dr Mboweni.
Yamurai, EcoChat — Econet’s AI customer care assistant — and EcoFarmer, which provides agronomic advice to farmers, have already introduced millions of Zimbabweans to AI without them necessarily knowing it.
Econet is currently the only mobile operator in Africa with a multilingual AI helpline offering support in local languages. Its Yamurai service answers questions in English, Shona and now Ndebele, with Tonga, Kalanga and other languages spoken in Zimbabwe set to be added soon — a critical inclusion strategy for rural and elderly users.
The mass adoption campaign comes as global AI usage explodes. According to Statista, over 300 million people worldwide used generative AI tools weekly in 2025, up from 100 million in 2023. McKinsey estimates AI could add $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy through productivity gains.
Econet’s bet is that Zimbabwe should not be a consumer only, but a power user.
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