Zimbabwe in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Uncommon.org, is intensifying its drive to expand broadband connectivity across all 2 400 administrative wards and extend access to digital services in underserved communities.
The government has unveiled an artificial intelligence (AI), digital and innovation hub at the Nyamuroro Vocational Training Centre in Gokwe North, a remote and predominantly rural region in the Midlands province.
The facility is the ICT ministry’s first AI digital innovation hub established in a rural area.
It is expected to provide young people with access to computers, digital skills training, AI, coding and innovation opportunities.
The launch builds on the Presidential Internet Scheme, launched in 2025. The hub has already enrolled 52 local young people.
“The launch is more than the opening of a training facility. It opens the gateway through which young people in rural Zimbabwe can access digital skills, artificial intelligence, coding, innovation, and the opportunities of the digital economy," deputy minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training, Kudakwashe Mupanhanga, said.
He added: “Zimbabwe’s digital transformation must not be confined to our cities and urban centres. It must reach our villages and rural communities so that no young person is left behind because of where they live."
He said that connectivity must be matched by skills that enable communities to use technology productively.
The ICT ministry provided 20 laptops to support the AI and Digital and Innovation Hub.
The hub in Gokwe will connect rural learners to government digital-skills initiatives, including the 1.5 Million Coders Programme and cybersecurity programme.
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