Online Reporter
Fatima Bulla-Musakwa
WHEN Tendai Makore stood with confidence to receive the top His Excellency Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa Presidential Best Commercialised Innovation of the Year Award recently, she did herself more than proud. In front of a packed audience gathered for the third edition of the Presidential Innovation Fair, she stood as a living testament to the Government’s vision set in motion back in 2018, anchored on Education 5.0.
With Education 5.0, the Government envisioned a higher and tertiary education sector that would produce graduates equipped with skills to become innovators driving societal development through transformative science and technology knowledge application that delivers goods and services.
Under this thrust, universities and colleges, apart from focusing on teaching, research and community outreach pillars, also added innovation and industrialisation.
Thus, the Presidential Innovation Fair brought together brilliant minds from universities, polytechnics, industrial training colleges and independent innovators showcasing a wide range of practical and scalable solutions to the country’s pressing challenges. The ceremony was themed “Innovation for Economic Growth: From Prototype to Commercialisation.” Innovations focused on critical sectors like agriculture, where young innovators presented smart irrigation systems; healthcare, where teams showcased locally designed diagnostic devices; and information communication technology, where software solutions were developed for e-learning and data management.
The prototypes have potential for commercialisation.
Makore, who walked away with US$50 000, a trophy and certificate, was among more than 50 finalists contending under 22 categories of the Presidential Innovation Fair awards.
Her winning innovation was titled “Beyond the Usual: Unveiling Essential Oils from Field and Forest Products.” It focused on the extraction, optimisation, encapsulation and commercialisation of both essential oils and cold-pressed oils derived from indigenous field and forest plants.
The innovation goes beyond oil production to include finished products such as beard oils, face washes, hair pomades, body lotions, deodorants, sunscreens, diffusing and decongestion oils. With sustainability and inclusivity being central pillars of the innovation, raw materials are sourced from rural communities, creating income opportunities and strengthening local value chains.
Additionally, each production season sees over 3 000 community-based pickers, of whom about 80 percent are women. This aspect ensures that a women-led supply chain strengthens livelihoods, promotes gender inclusion and sustainable sourcing of indigenous raw materials.
In an interview, Makore said as a scientist she experienced the gap that existed between science and business, as having strong research outputs was not sufficient to translate innovations into viable products.
“Through Education 5.0, I underwent rigorous training in business and financial management complemented by incubation programmes and seed grants. These interventions enabled my lab prototypes to be transformed into commercial products. Today, our start-up is housed at the University of Zimbabwe Industrial and Incubation Centre, benefitting from mentorship, infrastructure and industry linkages,” she said.
Makore’s innovation was inspired by her experience growing up in a rural set-up where indigenous oils were an integral part of daily life for skincare, healing, preservation and even lighting through burning seed. These practices, deeply rooted in indigenous knowledge, inspired her to scientifically interrogate, optimise and modernise what communities had long valued.
She saw an opportunity to combine indigenous wisdom with modern extraction, analytical and formulation techniques to create products that meet global quality standards while remaining locally relevant.
The inspiration was further strengthened by her desire to ensure that communities are not just raw material suppliers, but active participants and beneficiaries in the innovation ecosystem.
This vision ensured that her innovation merged tradition, science, sustainability and entrepreneurship. From raw extraction, the project moved to formulating high-value cosmetic, grooming, wellness and aromatherapy products using indigenous plants like myrothamnus flabellifolia (mufandichimuka), lippia javanica (zumbani), adansonia digitata (baobab), kalahari melon (mashamba), among others.
The award motivated her to scale production further, strengthen community-based supply chains and deepen socio-economic impact in Zimbabwe.
“Innovation hubs provide a structured pathway for research to move from idea to impact, particularly for female innovators, young scientists and start-ups. They are essential for fostering entrepreneurship, commercialisation and problem solving, which are critical for building a knowledge-based economy and accelerating national development,” she said, citing the impact of innovation hubs.
In 2024, Makore walked away with the Best Woman Innovator Award under the same competition with the same project.
Also, the Zimbabwe Research Council recognised her as the Outstanding Managing Director in the Application of Research and Development and Commercialisation of Research Results, acknowledging her leadership in translating research into market-ready products.
She also claimed the L’Oréal–Unesco For Women in Science Young Talents Award (Sub-Saharan Africa) for her work on the extraction and encapsulation of edible insect and plant oils as sustainable sources of essential fatty acids, reinforcing the scientific depth and global relevance of her research.
Such involvement of young people, who showcased brilliant ideas with real-world application — innovations highly relevant to the needs of the economy — proved that the President Mnangagwa-led Government had struck gold with the Education 5.0 thrust.
There is a generation capable of steering Zimbabwe’s development in science and technology by maximising the country’s agricultural, climatological and mineral heritage. As he officially opened the Fair, President Mnangagwa reaffirmed his commitment to supporting innovations as a driver of economic transformation.
Looking back at the event, Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development permanent secretary, Professor Fanuel Tagwira, said the fair reflected tremendous progress made under the Education 5.0 model, which emphasises innovation, industrialisation and problem-solving.
“Government’s decision to establish innovation hubs has been validated by the outcomes of this fair. These hubs are incubators of knowledge, creativity and enterprise. They are directly contributing to our national development agenda by producing solutions that are home-grown and scalable. The innovations we are seeing have potential to boost key sectors such as health, agriculture, energy and manufacturing,” said Prof Tagwira.
The fair, he said, also served as a platform to promote youth empowerment, entrepreneurship and job creation through science and technology. Apart from being an exhibition, it was a celebration of Zimbabwean ingenuity and a call to action for stakeholders to support innovation-driven development.
With such huge strides, the future is promising. Expectations are high for the fair to grow in scale and impact.
Said Prof Tagwira: “Upcoming editions will likely include regional participation, more industry collaboration and increased commercialisation of innovations. Our goal is to turn Zimbabwe into a regional innovation powerhouse and fully realise Vision 2030.”
Bongani Ndlovu