Most Zimbabwean companies lag behind in digital transition, resulting in operational inefficiencies and low productivity, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) says.
Digital transition is the shift from traditional methods to integration and strategic use of digital technologies — such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytics — across all business areas to create smarter operations, achieve greater efficiency and fundamentally deliver value.
In its Digital Transition Insights, CZI – which represents companies across 36 sub-sectors of Zimbabwe’s economy – said “just over half of respondents are currently implementing a digital transition strategy (51percent), while only seven percent say implementation is complete.”
“At the same time, about 21 percent are still in planning and 19 percent have no strategy at all, which shows momentum but uneven readiness,” it said.
CZI added: “Zimbabwean firms are moving into digital transition, but few are mature.”
The confederation – with membership spanning manufacturing, trade, transport, information technology, education, and professional services – said “most companies are still early in the journey”.
“The biggest group of firms has been working on digital transition for only 1–2 years (41 percent),” it said, adding that “only 18 percent have been at it for more than five years, which suggests the ecosystem is still building foundational capabilities rather than scaling mature digital models.”
CZI further stated that “leadership (in the digital transition journey) is executive-led, which is good for sponsorship but risky for execution depth”.
“Digital transition is mainly led by the CEO/managing director (40 percent), while technical leaders such as CIOs/IT directors account for a smaller share. That signals strong top-level buy-in, but it may also mean execution depends too heavily on executive intent unless firms strengthen technical ownership and program management,” it said.
At the same time, the organization said transitions to digital were not smooth.
“Challenges are the norm, not the exception.”
“A striking 81 percent of firms report facing challenges in digital transition.”
“The two biggest barriers are skills gaps (61 percent) and limited digital infrastructure/services (47 percent),” CZI said, adding that “when firms were asked for the single most significant challenge, infrastructure came first (40 percent), ahead of skills (30 percent) and capital (18 percent).”
“That means talent is the broadest pain point, but infrastructure is the hardest bottleneck.”
CZI went on to say that “the near-term business case is operational efficiency, not transformation for its own sake.”
“The top priority for the next 12 months is process automation (52 percent), followed by data and analytics (41 percent),” it said, concluding that “this suggests firms are chasing practical returns first: lower costs, better productivity, and better decision-making.”
It, however, said “the near-term gains will likely come from solving foundational enablers first: infrastructure, digital skills, and structured implementation support.” – TML