ZIMBABWE’S recently launched National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy has been welcomed as a timely and forward-looking policy that aligns with the country’s development aspirations, with stakeholders calling for its implementation to deliberately harness local skills, institutions and capital.
In an interview with Newsday, Indigenous Advisory Practitioners Association of Zimbabwe (IAPAZ) Secretary Last Matema said the strategy reflects a clear policy intent to position Zimbabwe within the global digital economy while remaining anchored in local realities.
“The launch of the National AI Strategy is a bold and commendable step. It signals that Zimbabwe is not content with being a passive consumer of technology, but intends to actively shape its own digital future,” he said.
IAPAZ draws its membership from a wide spectrum of professional disciplines, including finance, engineering, law, ICT, governance, and enterprise development. The association is premised on the belief that Zimbabwe’s socio-economic wellbeing will be achieved primarily through the deliberate mobilisation of local human capital and domestic financial resources, rather than over-reliance on external solutions.
According to Matema, the AI Strategy is particularly relevant to Zimbabwe’s stage of development because it frames artificial intelligence not as a luxury technology, but as a practical tool to enhance productivity, efficiency and service delivery across sectors.
“For a resource-rich country like Zimbabwe, AI must be understood as an enabler a way of doing more with what we already have, reducing leakages, improving decision-making and supporting entrepreneurship.”
Matema also noted that the policy is well aligned with the National Development Strategies (NDS1 and NDS2) and the indigenisation thrust.
“There is strong coherence between AI Strategy and the entrepreneurship spirit promoted under NDS1 and NDS2. The focus on innovation, MSMEs and local solutions speaks directly to self-employment, value addition and indigenous participation in the economy,”he said.
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While largely supportive of the policy direction, IAPAZ emphasised that, like all national strategies, the AI framework should be viewed as a living document, capable of being strengthened over time as implementation unfolds and lessons are learnt.
Matema pointed to the need for deeper and more structured participation by professional institutes and professional 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 enhance accountability, build public trust and accelerate skills diffusion at relatively low cost to the fiscus,” he said.
