Zimbabwe’s New AI Strategy Praised for Aligning Digital Ambition With Local Development Goals

Zimbabwe’s recently launched National Artificial Intelligence Strategy has been welcomed by stakeholders as a timely and forward-looking policy, with calls for its implementation to deliberately harness local skills, institutions and capital.

Speaking in an interview with NewsDay, Indigenous Advisory Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe (IAPAZ) Secretary Last Matema said the strategy signals clear intent to position Zimbabwe within the global digital economy while remaining grounded in local realities.

“The launch of the National AI Strategy is a bold and commendable step. It shows that Zimbabwe does not want to be a passive consumer of technology, but rather an active shaper of its own digital future,” Matema said.

IAPAZ draws its membership from professionals across finance, engineering, law, ICT, governance and enterprise development. The association is founded on the principle that Zimbabwe’s socio-economic progress should be driven primarily by local human capital and domestic financial resources, rather than reliance on external solutions.

Matema said the AI strategy is particularly relevant to Zimbabwe’s current development stage because it frames artificial intelligence as a practical productivity tool rather than a luxury technology.

“For a resource-rich country like Zimbabwe, AI must be seen as an enabler, a way to do more with what we already have, reduce inefficiencies, improve decision-making and support entrepreneurship,” he said.

He added that the strategy aligns well with the country’s National Development Strategies, NDS1 and NDS2, as well as its indigenisation objectives.

“There is strong coherence between the AI Strategy and the entrepreneurial spirit promoted under NDS1 and NDS2. The emphasis on innovation, MSMEs and local solutions directly supports self-employment, value addition and indigenous participation in the economy,” Matema said.

While supportive of the policy direction, IAPAZ stressed that the strategy should be treated as a living document that can be refined as implementation progresses and lessons emerge.

Matema also called for deeper and more structured involvement of professional institutes and bodies, describing them as critical partners in translating policy into practice.

“Professional bodies already regulate standards, ethics and continuous skills development across the economy. Integrating them more deliberately into the AI ecosystem would strengthen accountability, build public trust and accelerate skills diffusion at relatively low cost to the state,” he said.