HARARE, May 14 (NewsDay Live) - The government has begun disbursing funds to commercialise research projects and innovations that won at the 2025 Presidential Innovation Fair, an official said.
Acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Willie Ganda said the government was shifting focus from rewarding innovators to helping them turn ideas into viable businesses.
“Participation and uptake have been very high,” Ganda said of the Presidential Innovation Fair.
“What we’re doing now is that people have been winning innovations. We want those innovations to grow and graduate into full-grown enterprises.”
Ganda said the ministry had started financing some winning projects through the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (Zimdef).
“To do that, we are financing winners from past Presidential Innovation Fairs. This year, we have already released some money through Zimdef to finance those startups,” he said.
He said the Ministry of Finance was also working on additional support mechanisms for innovators and students developing projects in innovation hubs and tertiary institutions.
“The Ministry of Finance is also working to support more startups from students in innovation hubs and various institutions,” Ganda said.
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However, he said limited resources remained a major obstacle to commercialising more innovations.
“The innovation agenda has accelerated and the uptake is huge. What is limiting us is resources to help more innovators and students commercialise their innovations quickly,” he said.
Ganda said the government was strengthening partnerships with the private sector to support innovation and industrialisation.
He said last year’s Presidential Innovation Fair introduced pitching sessions where innovators presented ideas to potential investors and companies.
“We bring innovators to pitch their ideas before the private sector,” Ganda said.
“We are creating that platform because innovators need a space to showcase their ideas, while the private sector needs a platform to identify innovations they can adopt.”
Some private companies were already working with tertiary institutions to refine and test innovations for possible commercial rollout, he said.
Ganda cited a cement innovation developed by students at Chinhoyi University of Technology, which is being refined with a multinational company to help address environmental challenges caused by mine dumps.
“We’re hoping that as the private sector becomes more aware of the opportunities available, they will come on board,” he said.
Zimbabwe has in recent years intensified efforts to promote Education 5.0, a model focused on teaching, research, community service, innovation and industrialisation as part of the country’s Vision 2030 agenda.
