African AI

Zimbabwe Just Released Its National AI Strategy. Education Is a Priority.

Zimbabwe has officially released its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2026–2030), a 60-plus page document that lays out the country's vision for becoming the hub of "AI for Development" in Southern Africa.

We're reading through the full strategy and sharing our analysis as we go. This is Part 1, covering the Foreword, which was authored by four of Zimbabwe's most senior government officials.

There's a lot in here. But even before you reach the pillars, the implementation roadmap, or the sectoral adoption framework, the Foreword alone makes a powerful statement about where Zimbabwe sees itself in the global AI landscape.

Four voices, one message

The Foreword includes contributions from President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, Minister of ICT Hon. Tatenda A. Mavetera, Deputy Minister Hon. Dingumuzi Phuti, and Permanent Secretary Dr. Beaullah Chirume.

The through-line across all four is unmistakable: Zimbabwe is not interested in being a passive consumer of foreign AI. The country intends to build its own.

President Mnangagwa frames the strategy around the philosophy of 'Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo' / 'Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo', a nation is built by its own citizens. He calls out education, agriculture, healthcare, and mining as priority sectors. The language is deliberate: this is not about importing solutions, but cultivating them locally.

Minister Mavetera describes AI as "the very foundation of tomorrow's sovereignty, competitiveness, and resilience." She positions the strategy as a national pledge that Zimbabwe will be a creator of context-driven solutions, not a passive consumer of imported technologies.

Deputy Minister Phuti takes it further. He emphasises that AI is not only about algorithms, data, or machines. It is about reimagining education for every learner, empowering smallholder farmers with predictive tools, delivering healthcare to remote communities, and creating industries that provide dignified work for young people. Critically, he calls for women, youth, rural populations, and persons with disabilities to be at the centre of this transformation, not at its margins.

Permanent Secretary Dr. Chirume calls the strategy a commitment to harness AI responsibly, backed by institutions such as a National AI Council, an AI Strategy Implementation Office, and Technical Working Groups. She describes a future where AI powers farms, clinics, schools, factories, homes, and government systems.

Why this matters for Neriah

Neriah is an AI-powered homework marking assistant built for African teachers. We exist because teachers across Zimbabwe, and across the continent, spend 2 to 3 hours every evening manually grading student exercise books. That is unpaid labour contributing to burnout, attrition, and a continental teacher deficit of over 15 million educators.

The Zimbabwe National AI Strategy names education as a priority sector for AI adoption. It emphasises locally-built solutions that understand local values and local challenges. It calls for AI grounded in Ubuntu and the Heritage-Based Education 5.0 philosophy.

This is the policy environment Neriah was built for. Context-driven. Locally-built. Teacher-first.

What's next

This is Part 1 of our series breaking down the Zimbabwe National AI Strategy. In upcoming posts, we will cover the six strategic pillars, the sectoral adoption framework for education, the implementation roadmap (2025 to 2030), and what the strategy's regulatory sandbox and innovation fund mean for Zimbabwean AI startups.

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