By 
*By Ross Moyo*
ICT Minister Hon. Tatenda Mavetera has declared that Zimbabwe will not outsource its artificial intelligence future, positioning the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy as a sovereignty issue rooted in African realities rather than imported templates.
“We believe AI should be shaped by us, incorporating African realities and priorities rather than being merely consumed from elsewhere,” Mavetera told delegates at Evolve ICT Summit 2026 at HICC, Harare on Thursday under the theme “Empowering Africa’s Digital Leap: Innovation, Inclusion and Transformation”.
She invoked the late Professor Calestous Juma, warning that Africa must be a knowledge producer, not outsource its future. Outsourcing AI development, she argued, compromises economic sovereignty and locks the continent into consuming solutions that misunderstand local context, language, and data patterns.
The cross-sectoral plan is designed for measurable impact across four priority sectors. In agriculture, AI tools will help smallholder farmers predict yields, detect crop disease, and access real-time market prices. In healthcare, AI diagnostics will extend medical reach beyond urban hospitals to rural clinics lacking specialists. In education, adaptive learning platforms will personalize lessons for students locked out by geography. In public administration, AI will improve efficiency, cut bureaucracy, and strengthen accountability in service delivery.
But Mavetera didn’t dodge the risks. Job displacement and algorithmic bias are real threats if Africa imports systems built on foreign values and training data. Her answer: “AI reflects the values of those who build it,” she noted, quoting Nkusi Uwera. Zimbabwe’s approach will embed human dignity, broad participation, and shared prosperity directly into algorithms and policy frameworks from day one.
Inclusion and child safety are coded into the strategy as non-negotiables, not add-ons. The newly approved Child Online Safety Policy puts responsibility on government, tech firms, schools and parents because “protecting our children requires community effort, education, and vigilance from all adults involved in their lives”. The policy mandates safer product design and digital literacy in schools.
Gender inclusion is also core to the AI drive. Mavetera argued that a digital economy that excludes women runs at half capacity. Research shows diverse teams innovate better and serve wider markets. Scholarships, mentorship and targeted STEM training for women and girls are being scaled to ensure Zimbabwe’s AI workforce reflects the population it serves.
Infrastructure underpins everything. Government is modernising regulation, expanding broadband, and strengthening national data centres to support AI workloads. Without stable electricity and affordable data, Mavetera noted, even the best algorithms remain theoretical. The plan links directly to Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy.
Under President Mnangagwa’s “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo”, she said everyone has a role in building the AI future. Government will enable policy and infrastructure, private sector must invest and create jobs, academia must produce research and train talent, and startups must solve local problems with local data.
Mavetera closed with a call to action for innovators and policymakers. “Zimbabwe is actively participating in this journey… with a focus on innovation and inclusion.” The Minister said the country’s median age of 19 and the tech park under development give it an advantage if it acts decisively now.
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