By Nicole Chiimba
HARARE – Zimbabwe’s private sector has been urged to take the lead in shaping the country’s artificial intelligence (AI) future.
Speaking at the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) Strategic Intelligence Forum 2025, Data Scientist and Statistician Dr. Joseph Yose challenged local businesses to be proactive in developing AI governance frameworks and collaborative industry task forces that can influence national policy from a position of strength.
“As private sector, I hope I won’t get into trouble with this, but do not wait for the government to put things in place for you. As a private sector, you need to be proactive,” he said.
The presentation drew parallels with developments in the United Kingdom, where professionals from the Royal Statistical Society formed an AI Task Force without government involvement.
“They have put together, as statisticians, mathematicians, and engineers, people from the industry, private sector, and together they have created the Royal Statistical Society AI Task Force.
“No government involved — and because they were proactive, they were first to go to government. Governments didn’t approach them, and when they did, government listened.”
He urged Zimbabwean industries to follow a similar path, forming sector-based AI working groups tailored to their fields.
“Maybe you can do it at industry level,” he said. “For food manufacturers, gather together — what is AI, what are we doing, what do we need to see in terms of regulation before it’s in place? Be proactive.”
Dr. Yose also noted that there is widespread confusion about what truly constitutes AI.
“Most industries, business people, CEOs lack that knowledge in terms of what AI is,” he said. “They define AI differently and call some stuff that is not AI. So the first thing that needs to happen is to bridge that gap in terms of knowledge.”
He explained that AI is not a single tool, but a broader concept integrating data, analytics, statistics, mathematical modeling, and computer programming.
“AI needs data in, data out. It’s a bigger picture that includes good quality data, analytics, mathematical modeling, and programming skills,” Dr. Yose said. “For Zimbabwe, there’s great opportunity to use AI to their advantage — but the first step is to upskill staff and executives.”
He emphasized that executives must first understand AI conceptually, followed by targeted technical training for hands-on staff.
“Upskill your team. Make sure data is integrated into some data warehouse — have a single source of truth. Then you can talk of putting some analytics or AI on top of it,” he said.
CZI Chief Executive Officer Sekai Kuvarika said the organisation is committed to supporting AI initiatives.
Kuvarika added that the Strategic Intelligence Forum was designed to help business leaders navigate technological and strategic shifts through innovation-driven foresight.
