Econet launches AI unit as Zimbabwe steps into the futur
Econet Wireless officially launched its artificial intelligence unit, Econet AI, on Thursday in a move set to position the country as a regional leader in AI-driveninnovation.
The high-profile event, held in Harare and attended by the Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, Tatenda Mavetera, brought together over 200 stakeholders from key sectors including finance, agriculture, mining and telecommunications.
Among the dignitaries in attendance were senior government officials and industryleaders, officials from the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, among others.
Minister Mavetera, who was guest of honour at the event, described the launch of Econet AI as a national milestone aligned with Zimbabwe’s broader development
agenda.
“Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept – it is a present-day driver of economic growth, efficiency and innovation,” she said.
“I would like to congratulate Econet AI for their investment in compute capabilities,enterprise platforms, and consumer-focused use cases that align with both our AI strategy and national development priorities.”
She said AI will enhance productivity and efficiency across key sectors such as healthcare, agriculture and finance, while supporting the growth of small and medium enterprises.
“Government remains committed to creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment. Collaboration across all stakeholders will be critical to unlocking the full potential of AI in Zimbabwe,” she said.
Cassava Technologies President and CEO Hardy Pemhiwa Pemhiwa, who attended the launch event, described artificial intelligence as a transformative force requiring a fundamental rethink of how economies and industries operate.
“Artificial intelligence is not an incremental improvement – it is a structural shift,” he said. “Countries that respond to structural change with operational fixes will fall behind. Zimbabwe has made a deliberate and bold decision to lead, not follow.”
He commended the country’s National AI Strategy as a forward-looking framework capable of driving economic growth, institutional capacity and responsible governance. Pemhiwa also highlighted Cassava Technologies’ role in enabling sovereign AI capabilities through Africa’s first locally accessible AI compute infrastructure.
“Those who own the compute infrastructure will define the rules and economics of AI. Through sovereign AI, Zimbabwe has the opportunity to move from being a passive participant to an active rule-maker in the global digital economy,” he said.
Econet AI will roll out Cassava AiCloud, a platform that gives Zimbabwean enterprises access to high-performance computing powered by NVIDIA GPUs. The infrastructure is hosted at the Cassava AI Factory in South Africa, currently the only facility of its kind on the African continent.
In earlier comments, Econet Group CEO Dr Douglas Mboweni said the formal launch of Econet AI marked a shift to commercial deployment, positioning Econet AI as a strategic partner for businesses seeking to modernise or scale their operations and remain competitive in an increasingly digital global economy.
“We are now ready to take these solutions to the market and share capabilities drawn from some of the best technology companies in the world,” he said.
Econet AI CEO Navdeep Kapur outlined an ambitious pan-African strategy centred on scalable and sovereign AI development, supported by partnerships with global technology leaders.
“Our vision is to build AI that is not only powerful, but relevant to African contexts,” Kapur said.
“By bringing compute infrastructure closer to home, we are enabling businesses and institutions to innovate faster, more securely and more effectively.”
He highlighted key platforms such as AI-driven network optimisation and sector- specific solutions spanning agriculture, banking, healthcare and government services.
Econet Deputy CEO Roy Chimanikire reinforced the company’s vision to position Zimbabwe as a global AI innovation hub, driven by local talent and strong
has partnerships.
“We are building Zimbabwean solutions, powered by world-class AI capabilities,” he said. “With the infrastructure now in place, we can ensure that our data remains local Zimbabwe and is used to solve local challenges.”
He pointed to practical applications already underway, including fraud detection in finance, precision farming in agriculture, predictive maintenance in mining, and advanced diagnostics in healthcare.
Chimanikire also stressed the importance of ethical and responsible AI development.
“Transparency, accountability, fairness and data privacy must remain at the core of everything we build,” he said.
In a strong call to action, he urged stakeholders to actively participate in shaping Zimbabwe’s AI ecosystem.
“We have moved from policy to execution. The technology is here, it is operational, and it is accessible. The opportunity is immediate – and the time to act is now.”
As Zimbabwe embraces artificial intelligence at scale, the launch of Econet AI is widely seen as a pivotal step towards building a resilient, inclusive and globally
