Zimbabwe AI and Business Brief

RBZ eyes India's UPI for one QR code, but can it build trust in ZiG?

28 October 2026 · 4 min

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The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is in talks to build a national payments system on India's UPI so that people could pay any shop with one QR code, and an economist says technology alone cannot build trust in the ZiG. Also in this episode: Econet AI's campaign for mass AI use, ZINARA's new e-wallet for motorists, six more schools connected by satellite, and today's market numbers.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in talks to use India's UPI so people can pay any shop with one QR code

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe building in the Harare skyline.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe building in the Harare skyline. Photo: Bayhaus, CC BY 2.0, via flickr via Openverse.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is in advanced talks to build a national payments system on India's Unified Payments Interface, which would let people pay any shop with a single QR code. No agreement has been reached, and 31 October is the deadline for a deal.

Governor John Mushayavanhu told The Herald that payments remain slow, fragmented and costly. He also said it would be premature to guarantee lower customer charges before the rollout. Separately, he has spoken of "the trust gap that we need to address."

Jonathan Munemo, Professor of Economics at Salisbury University, argues in The Conversation that technology alone will not save the ZiG. He says Zimbabwe should control the system and its transaction data, and people should stay free to choose between the ZiG and the US dollar. "Payment infrastructure can make a currency that people trust more convenient to use, but it cannot create that trust on its own," he writes.

On savings, the governor agrees with him: the Bank has ruled out forcing US dollar savings into ZiG. "If you have good money in your FCA account, you keep it there. You are the one who will make the decision to liquidate this FCA account," Mushayavanhu said.

The terms are not yet public. The deal will be judged on who controls the system and whether charges actually fall.

Sources: youtube.com, heraldonline.co.zw, news.pindula.co.zw, theconversation.com

Econet AI takes its AI campaign to schools and small businesses

Econet AI is taking its campaign for mass AI use to schools, small businesses and social gatherings.

At the centre of the campaign is CAIMEX, a platform that gives users access to 100 AI models and lets them choose the cheapest model for a particular task.

Dr Douglas Mboweni, Group Chief Executive Officer of Econet, said: "I don't know of an African country that has reached our level of AI interaction and adoption; Zimbabweans should be very proud."

Sources: heraldonline.co.zw

ZINARA launches one e-wallet for motorists' tolls, licences and insurance

The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) has launched a multi-currency e-wallet that brings vehicle-related and statutory payments together in a single digital hub.

Through it, motorists can pay toll fees directly and top up prepaid tolling cards or accounts. The platform also handles vehicle licensing, ZBC radio licences and third-party vehicle insurance, including combined renewals.

It runs on iOS, Android and the web, so motorists can pay for services remotely from a smartphone or computer. A dedicated USSD option is available for people without smartphones.

Sources: zimbabwesituation.com

Six more Zimbabwean schools connected to satellite internet by the ITU and SES

A primary school elsewhere in Zimbabwe, at Vuti in Mashonaland West
A primary school elsewhere in Zimbabwe, at Vuti in Mashonaland West Photo: IGTaylor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Six more Zimbabwean schools have been connected to the internet under a partnership between the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and SES Satellites.

They include Chesa Primary School in Umguza District, Matabeleland North, and St Michael's Secondary School in Chipinge District, Manicaland.

Dr Cosmas Zavazava, director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, said: "Six more schools are now connected through the ITU and SES Satellites partnership, bringing the total to seven and moving us closer to our target of 10 schools in Zimbabwe in 2026."

Sources: heraldonline.co.zw

Today's numbers: ZiG at 26.57 to the US dollar, ZSE up 5.2%, gold at US$4,049

A gold bar.
A gold bar. Photo: BullionVault, CC BY-ND 2.0, via flickr via Openverse.

The official ZiG rate, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe interbank mid rate for 27 October, is 26.57 to the US dollar.

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange All Share index rose 5.2% to 493.9. The Victoria Falls Stock Exchange All Share index rose 2.1% to 283.7. Both index figures are for 27 October.

Gold is at US$4,049 a troy ounce, up 0.6%, at the spot price on 28 October.

Sources: rbz.co.zw, zse.co.zw, vfex.exchange, goldprice.org

Episode notes

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is in advanced talks to build a national payments system on India's UPI, so customers could pay any shop with one QR code, with a deadline of 31 October. Governor John Mushayavanhu says payments remain slow, fragmented and costly; economics professor Jonathan Munemo says Zimbabwe must control the system and that technology alone cannot build trust in the ZiG. Also: Econet AI's campaign for mass AI use, ZINARA's new e-wallet for motorists, and six more schools connected to the internet by satellite.

Sources

Audio clips

Quotes read by AI voices

  • Jonathan Munemo, Professor of Economics, Salisbury University, from The Conversation
  • Douglas Mboweni, Group Chief Executive Officer, Econet, from The Herald
  • Dr Cosmas Zavazava, Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, from The Herald

The background sounds set each scene; they are not recordings from the places named. Real recordings from freesound.org: Phone Notification by PearceWilsonKing (CC0), 1 - Crianças no pátio da escola - Kids on school playground (brazilian portuguese) by mateusrameh (CC BY 4.0). The rest are made by AI.

Presented by Nyasha and Farai, two AI presenters. Researched and written by AI. Facts checked automatically against their sources; not checked by a human. Produced by Executive AI Studio.

Transcript

John Mushayavanhu: So the difference between 18 and 25, 26 or 27 is what we call the trust gap that we need to address

Nyasha: That was Reserve Bank Governor John Mushayavanhu. Good morning. This is the Zimbabwe AI and Business Brief from Executive AI Studio, for Wednesday the twenty-eighth of October. I'm Nyasha, an AI presenter. Today, can one QR code build trust in the ZiG? Plus Econet's AI drive, road payments by phone, and six more schools online.

Nyasha: We start there, with our AI correspondent Farai.

Farai: Morning, Nyasha.

Farai: The Reserve Bank is in advanced talks to use India's payment system, UPI, so you could pay any shop with one QR code. The deadline for a deal is Saturday. Governor John Mushayavanhu told The Herald that payments remain slow, fragmented and costly. But he won't yet promise lower charges.

Nyasha: Sorry, Farai, is there a catch?

Farai: Economics professor Jonathan Munemo thinks so. He wants Zimbabwe to control the system and its data. Here's how he puts it in The Conversation, read by an AI voice.

Jonathan Munemo (read by an AI voice): payment infrastructure can make a currency that people trust more convenient to use, but it cannot create that trust on its own.

Farai: He also wants people free to choose between the ZiG and the dollar. On savings, the governor agrees. Here's what he said about foreign currency accounts.

Farai: The governor has said that people with good money in their foreign currency accounts can keep it there, and that the decision to liquidate those accounts is theirs.

Farai: The terms aren't public yet. What decides it is who controls the system, and whether charges actually fall.

Nyasha: Farai, thank you.

Nyasha: In other news, Econet AI is taking its AI campaign to schools and small businesses. Its CAIMEX platform lets you choose the cheapest of a hundred AI models. Here's group chief executive Douglas Mboweni.

Douglas Mboweni (read by an AI voice): I don't know of an African country that has reached our level of AI interaction and adoption; Zimbabweans should be very proud

Nyasha: Motorists can now pay ZINARA tolls, licences and third-party insurance from one e-wallet, in an app or by USSD.

Nyasha: And finally, what you're hearing is a primary school at break time. Six more schools are now online, from Chesa Primary in Umguza to Saint Michael's in Chipinge, through satellite internet from the International Telecommunication Union and SES. Here's the union's development director, Doctor Cosmas Zavazava.

Dr Cosmas Zavazava (read by an AI voice): Six more schools are now connected through the ITU and SES Satellites partnership, bringing the total to seven and moving us closer to our target of 10 schools in Zimbabwe in 2026.

Nyasha: Now, let's look at today's numbers. The official ZiG rate is twenty-six point five seven to the US dollar; the stock exchange All Share index rose five point two percent to four hundred and ninety-three point nine; the Victoria Falls exchange rose two point one percent to two hundred and eighty-three point seven; and gold is at four thousand and forty-nine dollars an ounce, up zero point six percent.

Nyasha: The Zimbabwe AI and Business Brief is brought to you by Executive AI Studio. We build AI assistants for Zimbabwean businesses. Find us at executiveai.studio.

Nyasha: Sources for every story are in the episode notes. This brief was researched and written by AI. I'm Nyasha. Have a good day.

The stories are written by AI from the episode, which was researched and written by AI and checked automatically against its sources; not checked by a human. Photos are credited under each one. Made by Executive AI Studio.