Regional technology leaders from across Southern Africa convened this week at the 2025 Computer Society of Zimbabwe Conference in Livingstone, Zambia, to chart a unified path for Africa's digital future. The summit placed strong emphasis on artificial intelligence AI, regional collaboration, and digital sovereignty, positioning the region as a rising hub of technological innovation.
The event showcased high-level participation from policymakers, industry experts, and academics, including Zimbabwe's Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Hon. Tatenda Mavetera, and Zambia's Minister of Technology and Science, Hon. Felix Chipota Mutati. Both ministers presented their nations' digital transformation blueprints, underscoring shared priorities in AI governance, cybersecurity, innovation funding, and human capital development.
Zimbabwe's delegation highlighted its newly finalized National AI Strategy, built around the vision of a 'smart, secure, and connected society." The framework positions AI as a collaborative tool to enhance human productivity rather than replace it. The strategy includes a 1.5 million digital skills program aligned with the African Union's Agenda 2063, a national target to train 1.5 million coders, and the implementation of both the Cyber and Data Protection Act and a National Cybersecurity Strategy to safeguard digital sovereignty and trust.
