Trust Freddy
Business Correspondent
INDIAN investors are positioning to tap into Zimbabwe’s vast lithium resources and its growing pool of tech talent, as the Government says technology must translate into jobs, viable businesses and efficient public services.
This emerged at the Zimbabwe-India Africa Tech and Entrepreneurship Summit 2026, which opened in Harare yesterday and ends today, the first country-level summit to be co-hosted by the India-Africa Entrepreneurship Forum.
Running under the theme “Building Africa’s Digital Economy: Innovation, Infrastructure and Investment Partnerships,” the two-day summit brought together captains of industry and techpreneurs from India and Zimbabwe to share ideas on leveraging AI to drive economic growth in both countries.
India is the 6th-largest economy in the world by nominal GDP (valued at approximately US$4,06 trillion to US$4,15 trillion) and the third-largest economy by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).
Its economy is globally known as the world’s fastest-growing major economy, with a massive services industry, a highly developed IT (Information Technology) sector and digital payment infrastructure expertise.
India-Africa Entrepreneurship Forum co-founder Mr Baljinder Sharma said Zimbabwe’s young, educated population positions it to become a competitive Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) hub.
“Particularly here in Zimbabwe, we believe that there is a huge opportunity to develop its ICT and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) sector, because it has a lot of young, educated people.
“I think these people are a powerful resource for international companies that want to outsource work,” Mr Sharma said.
He said artificial intelligence was likely to open rather than close doors for emerging markets like Zimbabwe.
“One of our panellists spoke about how … AI will level the field and allow new countries like Zimbabwe to enter into the BPO and knowledge sector,” he said.
On mining, Mr Sharma said Zimbabwe’s status as host to one of the world’s largest lithium deposits makes it strategic for the global technology and manufacturing value chains.
He said India’s appetite is buoyed by Zimbabwe’s policy push for beneficiation, which requires investors to process minerals locally instead of exporting raw ore.
“Some countries, including Zimbabwe, are asking investors to invest downstream in the mineral sector, not just explore and export minerals in raw form, but to process,” he said.
“This is an area where Indian companies will be very interested to come and invest so that they can have access to these critical minerals.
“I know that China has been very active there, but Indian companies are also equally eager. And if the right kind of incentives and facilitation are provided to them, you will see a lot of interest in investment in Zimbabwe.”
Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) chairman Dr Busisa Moyo said Indian firms have already mapped the minerals they want to secure and are also scanning opportunities in agriculture.
“They have identified some critical minerals that they want to secure for electric vehicles, electronic batteries and solar infrastructure. So, they are very interested in minerals from the country,” Mr Moyo said.
“But there are many other areas in agriculture as well that they are looking at. They look for imports for their country. They want to invest. And through these alliances, they invest, but also secure their supply chain.”
Mr Moyo said such alliances would allow investors to deploy capital and guarantee long-term supply for their home industries.
Officially opening the two-day summit, the Minister of Information, Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, Dr Tatenda Mavetera, said the future of the IT sector will be judged by its impact on livelihoods.
“Technology must create productive work, strengthen businesses and improve public services,” Minister Mavetera said.
“Under the leadership of His Excellency, the President, Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, Vision 2030 gives this work a clear purpose. Our digital ambitions must translate into better livelihoods and wider economic participation.”
She said the latest sector figures show resilience, with second quarter 2026 data showing 17,19 million active mobile subscriptions, down 0,55 percent, while mobile data traffic grew 6,92 percent to 191,73 petabytes.
The 2025 ICT Household Survey by ZimStat (Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency) and POTRAZ (Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority), released in July, shows 75,5 percent of households have internet access at home but only 11,2 percent own a computer.
Minister Mavetera outlined five priorities to make digital growth inclusive: affordable and dependable infrastructure, talent that moves from learning to work, sustainable enterprises, responsible AI and trust.
On infrastructure, she challenged operators and investors to extend rural access and embrace infrastructure sharing.
“Coverage must be matched by reliable electricity, service quality and affordable access. A learner should be able to complete an online lesson, and a business should be able to process an order without interruption,” she said.
Source: Indian firms target Zim lithium, BPO as Govt pushes jobs-led tech growth – herald
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