Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve [email protected]
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa’s vision of building a modern, industrialised and knowledge-driven economy is gathering momentum through a growing network of innovation hubs and industrial parks that are transforming university research into commercially viable products, creating jobs and reducing import dependence.
Anchored on the Heritage-Based Education 5.0 philosophy and the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), the innovation ecosystem is positioning universities as engines of industrialisation by integrating teaching, research, innovation and community service.
The concept reflects successful global innovation ecosystems such as Silicon Valley in the United States, Kigali Innovation City in Rwanda and Kenya’s iHub, where academia, industry and Government collaborate to commercialise ideas and stimulate economic growth.
Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF) chief executive officer, Engineer Sebastian Marume, said
Government has invested heavily in establishing and operationalising innovation hubs across the country to ensure research directly contributes to national development.
“An innovation hub is a collaborative physical or virtual environment designed to nurture ideas, research and technologies into viable commercial products or services,” said Eng Marume.
“These hubs provide a platform for innovators to transform ideas into knowledge, products and businesses that address national challenges.”
Eng Marume said under NDS1, Government had established seven innovation hubs and five agro-industrial parks, resulting in the commercialisation of 182 intellectual properties.
The innovations have already generated significant economic benefits, with locally developed products such as personal protective equipment and personal-care products helping the country save an estimated US$12 million in import costs.
Eng Marume challenged the private sector to become active partners in the country’s innovation ecosystem.
“We have so many problems in the country and we have the problem solvers. What is missing is connecting the problem solver with the problem itself,” he said.
Eng Marume warned that Zimbabwe’s competitiveness under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) would depend on producing affordable, high-quality products.
“As long as we are producing expensive goods, we won’t compete. I urge stakeholders to adopt a disruptive mindset to lower production costs and believe in local institutions,” he said.
“If you believe in one thing, all industries in this world are born out of an education system. They didn’t just become.”
Eng Marume said Zimbabwe possesses the intellectual capital required to drive its own industrialisation and expressed confidence that the country would eventually establish a teaching and research hospital capable of conducting clinical trials and developing home-grown medical solutions.
Several universities are already demonstrating the impact of the innovation drive.
The Bindura University of Science Education Industrial Park houses the PALPO Technologies assembly plant, which manufactures laptops, tablets and mobile phones, with some products already being exported to Lesotho.
The university is also spearheading rural industrialisation in Muzarabani through a value-addition plant processing indigenous masawu fruit, creating income opportunities for local communities.
The University of Zimbabwe Innovation Hub has enrolled more than 40 innovators, with 21 graduate intern start-ups already operating commercially, while the Mutoko Bioeconomy Industrial Park is focusing on sustainable production using locally available biological resources.
Midlands State University is also developing innovative technologies, including water treatment systems, while other institutions are working on projects ranging from biodiesel production to manufacturing wine from marula fruit, demonstrating the diversity of research being commercialised across the country.
Eng Marume stressed that universities are complementing, rather than competing with, the private sector.
He called on businesses and venture capitalists to invest in commercialising locally developed innovations.
“We have one ICT student who competed at Oxford University. Out of 500 competitors, she emerged the best from Zimbabwe. Are we really producing irrelevant graduates?” said Eng Marume.
He said ZIMDEF has repositioned itself from focusing mainly on apprenticeship training to supporting research, innovation, engineering solutions and entrepreneurship aligned with Zimbabwe’s industrialisation agenda.
“Some people say ZIMDEF is only for apprentices. No, we have changed that. We now support new knowledge creation, research, engineering solutions and business enterprise because that is the direction the country is taking,” said Eng Marume.
He said stronger partnerships between universities, industry and investors would accelerate the commercialisation of research, stimulate manufacturing, create employment and strengthen Zimbabwe’s journey towards attaining an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
