Online Reporter
Conrad Mupesa
Mashonaland West Bureau
The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development is currently hosting the inaugural Rural Industrialisation annual conference in Kadoma.
The high-level, two-day conference aims to accelerate the country’s rural development agenda in line with Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 and the Heritage-Based Education 5.0 philosophy.
It seeks to dismantle the dual economy by empowering rural communities to become co-creators of industrial ecosystems.
With over 67 percent of Zimbabwe’s population living in rural areas, the conference is focused on crafting strategies to promote self-sustaining economic growth through clean energy, decentralised manufacturing and vocational training.
Among its key goals, the conference will review and validate the Rural Industrialisation Workbook, as well as develop an implementation roadmap for the next phase of the National Development Strategy (NDS-2), which runs from 2026 to 2030.
Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Ambassador Frederick Shava and his Industry and Commerce counterpart Mangaliso Ndlovu are scheduled to address delegates this morning.
Participants include representatives from the banking sector, parastatals and institutions of higher learning.
The conference is running under the theme: “Bridging the Rural-Urban Divide: Innovation, Skills, and Industrialisation for an Inclusive Zimbabwe.”
