By Tendai Chisiri
NYANGA — Government has launched a national “AI Grand Challenge” to drive homegrown solutions, as officials declared that Zimbabwe’s digital future must be “coded, designed and scaled right here” by local innovators.
The announcement was made at the closing ceremony and awards presentation of the 2026 AI for Impact, AI4I, Challenge Bootcamp held on 31 July at Tamarind Holiday and Resort Conference Centre in Nyanga, Manicaland Province.
“Igniting a Movement, Not Just a Competition”
Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, Hon. Tatenda A. Mavetera, said the challenge is the practical engine of the Zimbabwe National AI Strategy.
“We are not here merely to launch a competition; we are here to ignite a movement. A movement that says Zimbabwe’s future will not be written elsewhere,” she said.
Minister Mavetera stressed that impact, not algorithms, will be the measure of success. She cited examples of AI helping a farmer in Gokwe get real-time crop disease alerts, a clinic in Binga using AI-assisted imaging for early diagnosis, and an informal trader in Mbare accessing micro-credit through an intelligent credit score.
“The measure of our progress will not be the sophistication of our algorithms alone, but the number of lives they touch,” she said.
POTRAZ: Building Foundations for Impact
Also addressing the event, POTRAZ Director General Dr. G. K. Machengete said the regulator is committed to creating the enabling environment for AI innovation to thrive. He highlighted POTRAZ’s role in supporting infrastructure, data governance, and skills development needed for the AI4I initiative to deliver tangible results.
Dr. Machengete noted that the bootcamp and challenge are key in identifying young talent and start-ups that can scale solutions across health, agriculture, finance and other priority sectors.
From Consumer to Creator
Framing the strategy as a “societal contract,” Minister Mavetera said Zimbabwe must stop being a consumer of imported technology and become a producer of local, context-aware solutions.
Quoting Peter Drucker and Nelson Mandela, she urged participants to be bold:
“The best way to predict the future is to create it… It always seems impossible until it is done. I am here to tell you: it will be done.”
She listed priority areas including AI models for areas with intermittent connectivity, datasets in chiShona, isiNdebele and other local languages, and robotics for the mining sector.
The Minister described the prize fund for the Grand Challenge as “a down-payment on your genius,” saying government wants innovators to “win markets, change systems, and create generational wealth.”
The event was attended by the Minister of State for Manicaland Adv. Misheck Mugadza, Secretary for ICT Dr. B. Chirume, members of academia, industry, development partners and innovators.
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