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The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) is taking concrete steps to support youth-led innovation through a structured combination of hackathons, ideathons, innovation funding, and entrepreneurship training, an approach that could reshape Zimbabwe’s digital economy from the ground up.
Speaking at the Evolve ICT Summit 2025, POTRAZ Director General Dr. Machengete said the authority has been encouraging young innovators to develop solution-based applications and is actively supporting them through a practical model: bringing them together to brainstorm, helping them refine their innovations, and backing the most promising ideas with both funding and mentorship.
In May 2025, POTRAZ hosted the Innovation Drive Ideathon in Masvingo, which received 248 submissions and shortlisted 30 standout projects. These innovations addressed key sectors such as agriculture, health, e-governance, fintech, and education. Finalists were given structured support including mentorship, bootcamp training and the opportunity to receive milestone-based seed funding of up to USD 8,000 per team.
By Ruvarashe Gora
Importantly, POTRAZ also offers training programmes focused on how to start and manage a business, ensuring that young tech creators are equipped with the tools to move beyond prototypes and into viable enterprises. The inclusin, in the ideathon mentorship process further prepares participants for real-world deployment.
More broadly, these programmes contribute to Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which seeks to modernise the economy through digital transformation and inclusive innovation.
Moreover, POTRAZ is aligning its innovation drive with broader digital literacy efforts. The authority is rolling out nationwide digital skills training, targeting up to 1.5 million youths in areas such as programming, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. At the academic level, it has launched doctoral ICT research grants and an official research journal to deepen the innovation pipeline from universities.
This integrated support model marks a significant shift from traditional development strategies. Instead of offering grants in isolation or running isolated training sessions, POTRAZ is building a national infrastructure that links innovation with enterprise, academia with industry, and youth potential with economic relevance.
As Zimbabwe faces the challenges and opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, such structured and scalable models for youth empowerment are more than necessary, they are urgent. POTRAZ’s work provides a viable blueprint for how a developing country can empower its own citizens to be problem-solvers and business leaders.
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