THE inaugural Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit for Africa opened in Victoria Falls this Monday, with the government announcing that Zimbabwe’s National AI Strategy will be launched next month.
Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy One (NDS1) places digital transformation at the centre of its drive towards achieving an upper-middle-income society by 2030. It is against this backdrop that more than 100 delegates attending the AI Summit for Africa 2025 were informed that the country’s second draft of its AI Strategy has been completed and is now open for further stakeholder consultations.
This milestone represents another step in Zimbabwe’s determination to build a solid foundation for artificial intelligence.
“We have finalised the National AI Strategy, and it will be unveiled this October. I look forward to the outcomes of these discussions. We will adopt the Summit’s recommendations to strengthen Zimbabwe’s upcoming AI strategy and contribute to a continental framework that amplifies Africa’s voice on Artificial Intelligence,” the Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, Honourable Tatenda Mavetera said.
The summit brings together local and international policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and technology enthusiasts to explore AI’s potential in unlocking new frontiers for growth.
“The AI Conference for Africa aims to facilitate knowledge exchange, strategic partnerships, and policy dialogue to accelerate AI integration across multiple sectors. The event will showcase how AI can help tackle Africa’s developmental challenges while driving sustainable and inclusive growth,” Intelligence Institute of Africa’s Chairperson, Dr Dennis Magaya, noted.
History teaches that those who do not actively shape their technological future risk being shaped by it.
In the age of AI, passivity breeds digital dependency, a new form of neo-colonialism where economic and societal values may be dictated by foreign algorithms that ignore local contexts.
By developing its own AI policy, Zimbabwe firmly rejects this trajectory, while also calling for a continental AI strategy rooted in key pillars such as economic sovereignty and global competitiveness.
