By Kovedzayi Takawira
Harare – In Zimbabwe’s corporate boardrooms, a silent disconnect is undermining growth. While Finance, Operations, and Human Resources continue to shape high-level strategy, Information Technology the engine of modern business, is still sidelined, often relegated to reporting lines under Finance or Administration.
In a digital-first economy, this legacy structure is not just outdated; it’s a liability. Industry experts caution that unless IT is given a strategic voice at the executive table, companies risk falling behind in innovation, agility, and competitiveness.
One such advocate is John Arufandika, Head of Digital Engineering at Aptiva AI, a leading African artificial intelligence firm.
In an interview with The Anchor, Arufandika argued that it’s time to stop viewing IT as a support function and start recognising it as a strategic pillar of modern business.
“In a world driven by data and automation, sidelining IT is like flying blind, this is 2025, not 1995,” he said
“IT is no longer just about fixing emails or managing networks. It’s the backbone of innovation, automation, data intelligence, and customer experience,” he added.
According to Arufandika, the persistent treatment of IT as a cost centre is not just an organisational flaw; it’s a strategic liability.
“When you don’t have tech leadership at the executive level, your digital
Transformation efforts are often reactive and fragmented.”
“You need IT leaders such as CIOs, CTOs, Chief Digital Officers shaping strategy alongside finance and operations.”
The Hidden Cost of Marginalizing IT
In many Zimbabwean boardrooms, IT remains boxed in by outdated thinking. Legacy structures persist, where IT budgets are tightly constrained, innovation is slow-walked, and digital initiatives are treated as side projects rather than core strategy.
The consequences are a costly, sluggish response to market shifts, poor customer experience, growing cybersecurity threats, and failure to harness data as a strategic asset.
“Digital transformation is not a project; it’s a culture shift,” says Arufandika
“If your IT department is treated as a support service rather than a strategic enabler, you are not truly transforming.”
The global data reinforces his point. Companies that prioritise digital capabilities from cloud computing and artificial intelligence to cybersecurity and automation consistently outperform their peers on productivity, profitability, and resilience.
Arufandika believes those clinging to traditional IT models are grappling with rising operational costs and dwindling competitiveness.
What Needs to Change
Arufandika is part of a growing movement advocating for structural reform at the corporate level.
His company, Aptiva AI, partners with organisations across Africa to build intelligent systems that streamline operations and generate business insights.
“We help companies build AI solutions that manage data, automate workflows, personalise customer engagement, and forecast trends. But that only works when the organisation treats tech as part of its growth strategy, not just a support service,” he said.
He believes Zimbabwean companies must take specific, actionable steps:
- Appoint technology executives (CIO, CTO, or Chief Digital Officer) with board-level authority.
- Align IT metrics with business KPIs like revenue growth, risk reduction, customer satisfaction, and time to market.
- Invest in skills and infrastructure that support AI, data science, cybersecurity, and cloud computing.
- Break silos between IT and business units through cross-functional collaboration.
“Digital is not a department. It’s the business,” Arufandika emphasised.
“If Zimbabwean companies want to thrive in a connected, data-driven economy, they must bring IT from the back office to the boardroom.”
