Online Reporter
Walter Nyamukondiwa
Mashonaland West Bureau Chief
ZIMBABWE must leverage on artificial intelligence (AI) as an anchor for economic development, global competitiveness and efficiency, Professor Kudakwashe Taruberekera has said.
Speaking after participating at the Global AI Show in the United Arab Emirates, Prof Taruberekera, an academic and property developer, called on Zimbabwe to take a strategic position in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The Global AI Show 2025 in Abu Dhabi and the Dubai Future Forum afforded the opportunity to appreciate the architecture and indispensable nature of the AI-powered industrial revolution. Global leaders, governments and private sector players met to discuss the future of AI and its role in shaping economies.
Zimbabwe’s public and private sectors, Prof Taruberekera said, cannot afford to delay embracing AI. “AI is no longer an extra or a luxury. It is now the foundation,” he said.
“Technology is moving at an unprecedented pace, and countries that fail to adapt risk being left behind.”He said AI was a “digital teammate” that had evolved beyond being a simple software tool.
“AI is now a digital teammate,” he said.
“Unlike the software of yesterday, AI is proactive. It stores data, analyses it accurately in super-quick time and supports informed, strategic decision-making.”
As a property developer, said the Craft Properties chief executive officer, AI could analyse the best time to acquire land, recommend cost-effective building materials and reduce financial and engineering risks by eliminating human error. He said AI could also power Zimbabwe’s aspirations of a 24-hour economy in line with other leading economies in the world.
“AI handles client inquiries across different time zones, 24 hours a day.
“When you marry this with the vision of a 24-hour economy, as advocated by Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, what once seemed impossible becomes achievable. AI does not tire,” he said. His property company, he said, was pursuing an “Intelligent Development Model” instead of the traditional system. Through the use of AI, he said, the company sought to efficiently manage several projects concurrently with the same workforce, in a development that will transform Zimbabwe’s property and real estate sector. AI could play a key role in smart land-use planning through analysing soil types, satellite imagery, demographics and urban growth trends to predict future high-growth suburbs. Property developers and real estate managers can now conduct virtual site visits using AI-driven virtual reality, enabling Zimbabweans in the diaspora to tour properties remotely and build trust faster.
It could also help in providing early warning maintenance systems, where AI systems detect water leaks, electrical faults or structural risks to avert disasters. Zimbabwe, he added, could draw lessons from the UAE’s proactive approach to development. “Dubai and Abu Dhabi don’t wait for the future — they build it,” he said.
He stressed the importance of prioritising AI literacy within Zimbabwe’s Education 5.0 framework, adding that the country must produce not only builders but “digital construction managers”.
This, he said, required reliable electricity, high-speed internet and investment in green energy such as solar power while ensuring sovereign data ownership through local data hubs for land registries and title deeds.
It also includes AI-driven automation of building permits, which cuts approval times from weeks to hours, significantly improving the ease of doing business.
He said Zimbabwe could take a leaf from the UAE’s ambitious goal of achieving an AI-powered government by 2027, which is being driven by the “Stargate Consortium”.
He also called for a strong public-private partnerships framework where Government embraces the private sector as a strategic partner rather than merely a source of tax revenue.
“They have a clear national AI strategy that both government and business follow together,” he said. “We have the talent. With the right tools, Zimbabwe can become a tech hub for SADC, if not the entire continent.”
