Johannesburg: AfricUpdate – News Desk
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.
In his address, Zambia’s Technology and Science Minister, Hon. Felix Mutati, reaffirmed the importance of regional unity in advancing Africa’s digital economy. He described Zambia and Zimbabwe as strategic partners bound by shared history and common technological goals. Guided by President Hakainde Hichilema’s digital transformation vision, Zambia is prioritizing the deployment of digital platforms to drive economic growth, enhance public service delivery, and improve the measurement of African economies.
Zambia’s roadmap includes several key legislative and structural reforms, such as a revised Data Protection Act, an Innovation and Inventors’ Bill to establish an independent venture capital fund for startups, and a local content policy reserving 20% of business and digital transactions in the mining sector for local enterprises. These efforts are aimed at fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and inclusivity in the country’s tech ecosystem.
Both nations also underscored the value of professional associations and industry organizations as critical drivers of Africa’s digital revolution. Mutati noted that Zambia’s digital literacy rate currently stands at only 34%, emphasizing the urgent need for skills development and cross-border cooperation. The summit also highlighted regional integration efforts involving Malawi, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, particularly through trade-enabling digital infrastructure. Initiatives such as the One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) at Chirundu between Zambia and Zimbabwe and Mwami-Mchinji between Zambia and Malawi were cited as successful models.
These continuous-flow border facilities are accelerating trade, reducing transaction costs, and promoting seamless connectivity across the region. The conference concluded with a unified regional call to action for shared growth, ethical AI creation, and inclusive development. Delegates reaffirmed that Africa must move from being a consumer of imported technologies to a creator of AI solutions tailored to the continent’s realities. The Livingstone summit ultimately reinforced the message that Africa’s digital transformation will be driven not by imitation but by innovation, collaboration, and regional unity.
