Zimbabwe’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2026–2030 was formally approved by President Mnangagwa and publicly launched in March 2026. It is a five-year government framework covering six pillars: AI talent development, infrastructure and computational sovereignty, public sector transformation, governance and ethics, research and innovation, and international collaboration. The strategy calls for a fundamental reorientation of the education system from primary to tertiary level toward AI literacy, STEM, coding, and data skills, and commits to establishing AI Centres of Excellence. A flagship “Nzwisiso.ai” national AI literacy campaign aims to reach 60% of Zimbabwe’s adult population by 2030, which represents one of the more ambitious public awareness targets in any African AI strategy to date. Implementation follows three phases: Foundation Building (2025–2026), Scaling Core Applications (2027–2028), and Ecosystem Maturation and Leadership (2029–2030).
Who it affects: Students from primary through tertiary level, educators who will need retraining, and the general adult population through the national literacy campaign. The strategy names government ministries as responsible for implementation but does not yet specify a regulatory or enforcement body.
What is notably missing: The strategy is a policy framework, not binding legislation — it establishes intent without legal mandates on schools, employers, or training providers. No dedicated funding commitment or budget line is specified in publicly available documents. Teacher training is identified as a priority but no funded rollout timeline or minimum standard is defined. An ethics curriculum component is listed under the governance pillar but is not required as part of the school-level AI literacy framework.