President Emmerson Mnangagwa has challenged institutions of higher and tertiary education to take the lead in innovations aimed at producing quality goods and services in line with the “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo” mantra.
He made the remarks while officiating at the inaugural Presidential Innovations Fair and Awards ceremony at the Harare International Conference Centre.
The fair, a brainchild of the President, began on Thursday and saw 35 institutions of higher and tertiary education, government scientific agencies and industrial training centres participating.
“My government is in the process of implementing various policies and programs which have seen our economy transitioning from stabilization to growth,” said President Mnangagwa.
“In order to maintain this momentum, my government is investing in innovation and industrialization. Given the shift from concentrating on the teaching of theory to practical and entrepreneurship, our various institutions of higher and tertiary education should be torchbearers of innovations aimed at producing quality goods and services. Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo.”
To beat the effects of the illegal sanctions imposed on the country by the West over 20 years ago, it was necessary to fast-track the country’s industrialization and modernization through science, technology and innovation and changing of mindsets, dubbed “Chimurenga chepfungwa”, added President Mnangagwa.
“In this regard, it is encouraging that, through the innovation hubs and industrial parks, our institutions of higher learning are nurturing start-ups, registering a record number of patents as well as developing prototypes. Start-ups should not perennially remain in the innovation hubs. They should graduate to become profitable and employment-creating organizations that produce quality products, provide value for end-users and the quality of life of our people,” he said.
The government will continue supporting the start-ups as they unlock the human potential necessary for Zimbabwe to become a global superpower.
Innovation hubs have been set up at higher and tertiary institutions in all the country’s 10 provinces so that they lead in the production of goods.
President Mnangagwa said the innovation hubs were the only way to transform people’s lives.
The Presidential Innovations Fair, which will become an annual event, will in future incorporate players from the private sector, Zimbabweans in the Diaspora and others from the region, according to the President.
Through Verify Engineering, Zimbabwe is now a net exporter of medical oxygen, and its Mutare plant also produces industrial oxygen, acetylene and liquid nitrogen, while a consortium of tertiary institutions has established a national number plate production plant. Other projects that would be commissioned soon include the MSU Nanoparticle Plant in Zvishavane, the Masawu Processing Plant at Muzarabani, a Baobab Juice Plant in Mutare, the Bingwa Wildlife and Ecotourism Industrial Park in Hwange as well as Minerals Innovation Centres in Gwanda and Filabusi.
