LUPANE — While many people see discarded plastic, old DVD players, cardboard boxes and scrap metal as rubbish, 18-year-old Blessing Chibango sees opportunity.
Standing proudly beside a machine he built largely from waste materials, the young innovator explained how his invention separates different types of waste, helping communities manage refuse more efficiently while promoting recycling and environmental protection.
His invention, which ultimately won under the STEM category, was among hundreds of innovations and practical skills displays showcased at the Ministry of Skills Audit and Development’s Skills Fair currently underway in Lupane, Matabeleland North.
For Blessing, the exhibition was more an opportunity to demonstrate how young people can contribute solutions to some of Zimbabwe’s most pressing challenges.
“I didn’t create this machine for myself,” he said. “I thought about the environment, the community and how we can keep people healthy. If we manage waste properly, we can reduce diseases like cholera and create cleaner communities.”
His waste-separating machine uses a series of mechanical arms, trays and compartments to sort different types of waste into separate containers. Built from recycled materials and salvaged components from old electronics, the prototype demonstrates how innovation can emerge even in resource-limited environments.
For years, many young Zimbabwean innovators have struggled to move beyond the prototype stage. Brilliant ideas often remain trapped in classrooms, workshops and homes because of limited funding, inadequate exposure and lack of support systems.
Platforms such as the Skills Audit and Development Skills Fair are increasingly being viewed as part of the solution.
The fair, which brings together students, artisans, innovators, vocational trainees and entrepreneurs from across the province, seeks to identify, nurture and showcase skills that can drive economic growth and industrial development.
It forms part of the broader national skills development agenda spearheaded by the Ministry of Skills Audit and Development, which aims to map, recognise and harness the talents across the country.
The initiative aligns with Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), which places significant emphasis on human capital development, innovation, industrialisation and the creation of a knowledge-based economy.
Under NDS2, skills development is viewed as a critical pillar for accelerating economic transformation and preparing Zimbabwe’s workforce for the demands of a modern economy.
The Skills Audit Policy, meanwhile, seeks to identify competencies across different sectors and ensure that talent is linked to opportunities for growth, employment and enterprise development.
For young people like Blessing, these policies are beginning to translate into tangible opportunities.
His innovation addresses multiple national priorities at once: environmental management, public health, recycling, technological innovation and job creation.
Beyond separating waste, he believes the technology could be adapted for agriculture, mining and manufacturing sectors where sorting and grading materials is an important part of production processes.
“If we can improve this machine and automate it, it can help businesses and communities. It can separate waste, sort agricultural products and even assist in other industries,” he explained.
The exhibitions at Lupane State University were filled with similar stories.
Young people from schools, vocational training centres and community innovation hubs are presenting projects ranging from robotics and renewable energy solutions to agricultural technologies and digital innovations.
Together, they paint a picture of a generation eager to participate in Zimbabwe’s development journey.
Government officials have repeatedly emphasised that achieving Vision 2030, which seeks to transform Zimbabwe into an upper-middle-income economy, will require more than natural resources and infrastructure investment. It will depend on unlocking the country’s human capital and creating pathways for innovation to thrive.
The Skills Fair is emerging as one of those pathways.
By giving young innovators visibility, connecting them with policymakers and potential investors, and recognising practical skills that are often overlooked, the programme is helping bridge the gap between talent and opportunity.
For Blessing, however, the journey is only beginning.
His immediate goal is to secure support to refine and scale his invention into a fully automated system capable of serving communities and businesses on a larger scale.
Like many young innovators before him, he understands that a prototype alone will not change the world.
But standing among fellow innovators in Lupane, he is hopeful that platforms such as the Skills Fair can provide the recognition and support needed to transform ideas into impact.
“People always talk about inventors in other countries,” he said. “But we also have innovators here in Zimbabwe. All we need is support.”
If the excitement and ingenuity on display at the Lupane Skills Fair are anything to go by, Zimbabwe may already be sitting on a generation of innovators ready to help drive the country’s journey towards Vision 2030.
