Digitalisation will shape every part of Zimbabwe’s future economy, from banking and finance to mining and manufacturing, Information Communication Technology Minister Tatenda Mavetera has said.
Speaking on ongoing private-sector investments, Minister Mavetera said the expansion of digital infrastructure closely aligns with Government’s vision of building a sustainable, private-sector-led digital economy under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
“Digitalisation is coming into every aspect of our society,” she said. “One of the key pillars of our digital economy is strengthening digital infrastructure, and this can only be achieved through strong collaboration with private-sector players.”
She welcomed the investment by Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, saying it reflects the policy direction set by Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has consistently emphasised private-sector-led development as a driver of economic growth.
“His Excellency has been very clear that Zimbabwe must foster private-sector-led development,” Mavetera said. “We are pleased with what Econet is doing and want to enhance our digital infrastructure by increasing power capacity and establishing a robust data centre.”
She said such infrastructure is critical as Zimbabwe seeks to learn from global best practices and accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence.
“A strong data centre gives us the opportunity to leverage what other countries have done and invest meaningfully in artificial intelligence as a nation,” she said.
The planned Smart Industrial Park is expected to host AI specialists, digital analysts and technology-driven businesses, positioning Zimbabwe to support advanced computing, data sovereignty and innovation-led growth as digital technologies become central to modern economies.
Speaking on the sidelines of engagements with government officials, Roy Chimanikire, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, said robust data centres have become the “essential engine” for the development and deployment of artificial intelligence.
He said recent ease-of-doing-business reforms introduced by the Government were deliberate and timely, aimed at attracting long-term investment and stimulating growth in key sectors such as technology, energy and digital infrastructure.
“As a local telecommunications company, we are embarking on a 300-hectare smart industrial park project in Harare,” Mr Chimanikire said. “The development will include modern digital centres and a 100-megawatt power plant to ensure Zimbabwe is ready for the demands of artificial intelligence.”
He explained that artificial intelligence has reshaped how businesses operate, raising expectations around speed, efficiency and scale, while making reliable power supply and advanced computing capacity essential rather than optional.
“AI has brought a fundamental shift in how business is done and how execution happens,” he said. “One of the most important aspects is building compute-ready capacity so that we can deploy solutions, not only for artificial intelligence, but to digitalise everything we are doing across industries.”
The industrial park is expected to support cloud services, data sovereignty and advanced digital applications, while also strengthening energy resilience for high-demand technologies. Industry observers say projects of this scale reflect growing confidence in Zimbabwe’s digital economy and highlight the importance of infrastructure-led growth as the country prepares for future technologies.
As global adoption of artificial intelligence accelerates, sustained investment in power generation, data centres and digital platforms is increasingly seen as the backbone of competitiveness, innovation and long-term economic transformation.
