Zimbabwe launches $25 million ICT fund

Zimbabwe today launched a national ICT policy and its $25 million innovation fund which it says will help it create its own technology hub to support and promote budding innovators in the country.

The Innovation Drive fund, which was announced in March 2016, is funded by contributions from the telecommunication companies in the country.

ICT Minister Supa Mandiwanzira said the telcos contribute one percent of their revenue to the fund.

This means that the fund would have received $5.9 million from the $590.2 million revenue generated by mobile telecommunications firms in the first three quarters of last year.

Revenue totalled $224.8 million in the third quarter of 2017.

The government expects to raise $25 million for the fund by 2020.

Silicon Valley, which is in the United States, is the home to many of the world’s largest high-tech companies as well as start-up companies and Mandiwanzira said Zimbabwe had ‘capacity to match or surpass’ what it produces.

The ICT policy, which was approved by government in August 2016, is a four year framework.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who launched the policy and the fund, said he wanted technology developments to move the country from “consumptive technology to productive and transformative technology”

Six start-up — Oyos, Purple Signs, Shift Organic Technologies, Red Pen, Afrimom and Native Project were given funding under the fund.

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