Zimbabwe’s digital transformation agenda is underpinned by a policy framework that prioritises universal access and inclusion.
The government has committed to improving citizens’ access to information, citing the Freedom of Information Act as the cornerstone of meaningful engagement between citizens and the State.
This commitment is reinforced by the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2026–2030. The Strategy sets out, among its principles, inclusivity, non-discrimination, availability, and accessibility.
The Strategy, launched by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in March 2026, is anchored in three pillars: economic sovereignty, cultural and social determination, and inclusive and resilient development.
Zimbabwe’s ambitious National Broadband Plan is a blueprint to ensure every citizen is digitally included. The plan is built on two cornerstone goals to be achieved by 2030.
Goal 1 is ubiquitous broadband coverage. This means 100 per cent coverage in all areas where people live, work, travel, and learn, with a speed of at least 1 Mbps.
Goal 2 focuses on inclusivity. This ensures access to quality, affordable, relevant, and usable broadband services at the government, business, community, household, and individual levels.
Despite these policy commitments, there remain significant structural barriers to internet affordability and access. The Strategy’s effectiveness depends on the coherence and enforceability of the underlying policy environment, particularly regarding internet affordability and access.
According to POTRAZ’s 4th Quarter 2025 report, the internet penetration rate stood at 84.55%. Last year, the local operator NetOne reported that its 3G network covers approximately 50 percent of the geography and 80 percent of the population. Its 4G network reaches 32 percent of the geography and 69 percent of the population.
According to the 4th Quarter POTRAZ report, Zimbabwe continues to see significant growth in internet and data traffic.
This is attributed to increased use of data-intensive applications, supported by the rollout of high-speed network infrastructure, as indicated by a 14.73% increase in 5G base station deployments in the quarter under review, among other factors.
This widespread access to mobile internet is important in Zimbabwe, where mobile devices are often the primary means of accessing the internet and connecting people in both urban and rural areas.
Access to affordable, reliable internet is no longer a luxury. It is essential for education, entrepreneurship, and participation in the modern economy. It is increasingly recognised as a fundamental enabler of human rights.
According to third-party secondary reports, such as DataReportal, GSMA Intelligence, and Statista, 6.54 million people were using the internet in Zimbabwe at the end of 2025. Online penetration stood at 38.4 per cent.
Zimbabwe was home to 2.60 million social media user identities in October 2025, representing 15.3 percent of the total population.
But numbers alone don’t tell the full story.
The bulk of this connectivity is concentrated in urban hubs, leaving rural areas behind. Cost is a major barrier. Many Zimbabweans spend more than 10 per cent of their monthly income just to stay online, well above the United Nations’ recommended threshold of 2 per cent.
Basic data bundles often take up a disproportionate share of low-income households’ monthly earnings, effectively excluding large segments of the population from digital participation. Zimbabwe has some of the highest data costs per GB in Southern Africa, as well as some of the slowest average internet speeds.
The average monthly internet expenditure remains around USD10, making internet access accessible to some households, particularly in urban areas, where mobile internet continues to dominate.
The government has launched initiatives to address these gaps, including the donation of 8,000 Starlink kits to primary and secondary schools in remote districts.
POTRAZ has also rolled out digital centres, with more than 257,000 people accessing services in 2025 and nearly 15,000 receiving ICT training.
However, these initiatives face constraints. Despite the availability of affordable hardware, monthly subscription fees remain a barrier for rural households. Without digital literacy and reliable power infrastructure, connectivity does not translate into meaningful inclusion.
Despite these efforts, structural limitations persist. The telecommunications sector faces financial pressure, as operating costs outpace revenue growth.
High-speed networks such as 4G and 5G remain concentrated in urban areas, with rural coverage markedly lower. International bandwidth capacity has grown only modestly, limiting integration into global data ecosystems.
Reliable electricity supply remains a challenge, with only 62% of the population having access. At the same time, human capital development programmes, including the 1.5 Million Coders Programme and the Digital Skills Ambassadors Programme, aim to build the skills pipeline needed for AI adoption.
However, training programmes assume participants have reliable connectivity and devices, yet there is no uniformity, particularly in rural and low-income contexts.
The government’s commitment to digital inclusion is evident in its policy framework. National Development Strategy 2 prioritises expanding broadband coverage through spectrum allocation and satellite licensing.
The Universal Service Fund also finances network expansion into economically disadvantaged areas. The National AI Strategy’s focus on “computational sovereignty” and “Ubuntu-driven innovation” reflects an attempt to anchor technological development in national values.
However, the persistence of high costs, uneven infrastructure, and digital skills gaps raises questions about whether the strategy’s phased implementation, from foundational capacity building to large-scale deployment within five years, will proceed as planned.
The central challenge is not whether Zimbabwe should pursue AI, but whether it is doing so on foundations sufficiently developed to support it. The tension between ambition and readiness is evident, as foundational conditions are incomplete and unevenly distributed.
Without alignment between strategic vision and operational reality, the benefits of digital transformation are likely to accrue to already-connected populations, while structural inequalities persist or deepen.
These connectivity gaps pose a significant challenge to Zimbabwe’s AI strategy, which depends on a digitally literate population and functional online infrastructure.
A successful AI strategy must actively address the digital divide by prioritising affordable access, reliable coverage in underserved areas, and the development of digital skills across the entire population.
This article is part of a series examining Zimbabwe’s digital sector reforms and their implications for human rights, curated by Helen Sithole. The series explores how the Cyber and Data Protection Act, the amended Broadcasting Services Act, the Postal and Telecommunications Amendment Bill, and the National AI Strategy are shaping freedom of expression, privacy, and access to information within Zimbabwe’s evolving digital governance landscape. Writes – Helen Sithole.
