Online Reporter
Oliver Kazunga, Senior Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE can accelerate Vision 2030 and the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS 2) by strategically harnessing the convergence of artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology and information technology, a senior global engineering expert has said.
Vice President of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO) and chairperson of its Capacity Building Committee, Dr Martin Manuhwa, made the remarks in an interview.
Led by President Mnangagwa, the Second Republic is pushing towards an upper middle-income society under Vision 2030, with NDS 2 gaining momentum through innovation-driven growth anchored on emerging technologies.
Dr Manuhwa said the convergence of AI, biotechnology and information technology has the potential to unlock new sources of value, competitiveness and economic resilience.
“As innovation-led growth, modernised health systems and value addition in agriculture take centre stage under NDS 2, the AI–biotechnology pathway is emerging as a practical route to transform Zimbabwe’s rich biological resources into high-value products, services and skilled jobs,” he said.
Dr Manuhwa described the convergence as a strategic opportunity for Zimbabwe to leapfrog into the global knowledge economy.
“Artificial intelligence is no longer a luxury for advanced economies. When combined with biotechnology and modern information systems, it becomes a powerful enabler for countries like Zimbabwe to extract value from their own biological assets,” he said.
A registered professional engineer with over 30 years of leadership in global engineering initiatives, Dr Manuhwa specialises in sustainable energy, AI, infrastructure, project management and capacity building. He is also the managing consultant at Zimbabwe Africa Infrastructure Development Group (ZAIDG), a partner of Hatch Africa, which is delivering high-impact energy and infrastructure projects across Africa.
“At its core, AI allows us to analyse complex biological and agricultural data faster and more cheaply. This enables quicker drug discovery, improved diagnostics, better crop performance and stronger responses to disease and climate risks,” he said.
Dr Mauhwa noted that Zimbabwe’s diverse plant species, agricultural systems and microbial ecosystems remain largely under-utilised. Through bioinformatics, genomics and data analytics, he said, these resources could support pharmaceutical development, climate-smart agriculture and research-based manufacturing.
“This approach directly supports NDS2 priorities around innovation, industrialisation and human capital development. It also strengthens national health security and food systems,” he added.
However, Dr Manuhwa cautioned that realising this potential requires deliberate investment in laboratories, data infrastructure and computing capacity, as well as skills development in AI, data science and biotechnology.
“Clear policies on data governance, ethics and benefit-sharing are essential. Zimbabwe must ensure its biological data is used responsibly and that value created benefits its people,” he said.
He said partnerships between Government, universities and the private sector will be critical in moving innovation from laboratories to markets, positioning Zimbabwe as an active player in Africa’s science- and technology-driven future.
Those who really understand what Artificial Intelligence (AI) is and does please lift up your hands? Zimbabweans are notorious for hooking onto something they don’t fully know and behave like they are the champions. Before making too much noise about Artificial Intelligence, make sure people understand what it is, what it does, how it does it and the negative consequences it poses. Artificial Intelligence is not a game. It is a highly complex engineering tool that is not a one size fits all type of system. It is developed using data and algorithms that are mainly foreign to Africa hence it has to be well understood before being preached to ignorant populations like Zimbabwe. If we do not tread carefully on this rather fluid surface we will live to regret. Government must identify those who fully understand what AI is and ask them to craft policies that suit our situations. Very few people understand what Artificial Intelligence is. The media should be the first to be taught what AI is because they are at the forefront of spreading misinformation. Recently the media was agog with claims that AI driven silos (whatever that means) were built in Kwekwe. One wonders where AI is being applied in grain silos. What they mistake for AI is simple measurements of conditions, telemetry and subsequent automatic control programs run by programmable logic controllers, remote terminal units, supervisory control and data acquisition. These systems have been there for decades. There is nothing AI in such systems. So let us understand this system before we preach wrong things.