THE government has urged tertiary institutions and the private sector to intensify efforts to commercialise innovation, saying higher education must move beyond theory to produce job creators, marketable products and globally- competitive skills.
The call was made during the Presidential Innovation Fair Awards held recently in Harare under the theme Innovation for Economic Growth: From Prototype to Commercialisation, hosted by the Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development ministry.
Addressing stakeholders, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said deliberate and aggressive action was required to ensure prototypes progressed from pilot stage to the market.
“Commercialisation will not happen by accident. I urge you all to make this innovation, research, scientific and technological ecosystem more proactive,” he said.
Mnangagwa encouraged entities in industry, manufacturing, the creatives and cultural sectors, and small and medium enterprises to register patents to protect Zimbabwean brands, products and intellectual property.
“Ministries, departments and agencies responsible for intellectual property rights must facilitate and guide in defining the registration and protection of properties,” he added.
Mnangagwa highlighted the central role of digital tools and artificial intelligence in scaling science and technology, emphasising that Zimbabwe can accelerate its transformation towards Vision 2030 through diverse and increased investment in innovation.
He said educators at every level should be innovative and intentionally adapt to new knowledge and skills associated with cutting-edge science and technological developments.
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“Technology development, adaptation and transfer, business support, consultancy and continuous education for industry stakeholders, should be keenly pursued as we retool, upgrade and upskill the workforce of the country,” he said.
Mnangagwa called for deeper collaboration between the education sector and the private sector through mentorship programmes, co-funding arrangements, and support for award-winning prototypes to develop to viable start-ups, industries and service exports.
“I expect that the education ecosystem and the private sector will deepen their collaboration to build a successful innovation ecosystem,” he said.
Mnangagwa stressed the importance of skills retention and ensuring local innovators remain globally competitive, pledging continued government support for research, innovation and development.
“Zimbabwe should thus not only produce exceptional innovators, but we must also keep them, support them and help them to thrive. More of our citizens and private sector stakeholders are excited to play their part towards supporting this ongoing research, innovation and development agenda,” he said.
“Let us convert ideas to commons, prototypes to exports and a wider range of products and services that benefit the majority of our people and every sector, every community and every Zimbabwean must believe that their idea can make a difference,” he added.
Meanwhile, Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development minister Frederick Shava, urged private sector partners to collaborate with innovators, invest in them, adopt their solutions, provide mentorship and offer scale-up support.
“Together, we can build new industries anchored in local innovation and our universities and colleges continue to align your research and training with the needs of our communities and industries. Let every graduate emerge not just with knowledge, but with a product, with a skill, or a business,” he said.
“We will continue to innovate, to build and to create for the generations to come,” he said.
