Boost for tertiary education institutions

Source: Boost for tertiary education institutions** – herald**

Ivan Zhakata

Herald Correspondent

ZIMBABWE is set to tap into South Korea’s experience in innovation and entrepreneurship to strengthen start-up development, technology commercialisation and enterprise support in higher and tertiary education institutions.

Speaking at the final reporting seminar for the 2025/26 Korea-Zimbabwe Knowledge Sharing Programme (KSP)-African Development Bank (AfDB) joint consulting programme in Harare yesterday, Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development Permanent Secretary Professor Fanuel Tagwira said the programme had provided Zimbabwe with a framework to strengthen its innovation ecosystem.

The programme, which was launched in February this year, reviewed entrepreneurship support models at Zimbabwean higher education institutions, analysed the legislative environment for enterprise support organisations and compared the country’s systems with South Korea’s start-up ecosystem.

It also included study visits to Korean institutions such as the Seoul Startup Hub, LG Science Park and Busan National University.

Prof Tagwira said the programme has gone beyond technical cooperation and provided Zimbabwe with practical lessons to advance its Education 5.0 agenda.

“The Knowledge Sharing Programme has, over the course of its implementation, represented far more than a technical exercise. It has been a genuine partnership of ideas, expertise and mutual respect between our two nations,” he said.

Prof Tagwira said Zimbabwe was seeking capacity building rather than dependence on foreign partners.

“What we seek from partnerships such as this one is not dependence but capacity. The tools, knowledge and frameworks that empower us to build our own solutions,” he said.

Prof Tagwira said South Korea’s stage-based start-up support system, intellectual property management, technology commercialisation and industry-academia collaboration offered valuable lessons for Zimbabwe.

He said existing innovation hubs and industrial parks in the country’s higher and tertiary institutions provided a foundation for implementing the recommendations arising from the programme.

Seven start-up teams identified through the National Student Innovation Competition also travelled to South Korea to gain first-hand exposure to its entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Korean Ambassador to Zimbabwe Park Jae-kyung said the programme was aimed at strengthening support for start-ups within Zimbabwean higher education institutions and developing a policy roadmap for a stronger entrepreneurship ecosystem.

He said 15 Zimbabwean officials and start-up representatives travelled to South Korea in June, 2026 for a workshop and study programme.

“They had the opportunity to see how Korean universities, companies and other institutions support entrepreneurship and innovation,” Ambassador Park said.

The delegation also signed memoranda of understanding with Korean start-ups, which Ambassador Park said could provide a foundation for continued cooperation between entrepreneurs from the two countries.

However, he cautioned Zimbabwe against simply replicating the Korean model and said the lessons have to be adapted to local circumstances.

“I believe there is no single model that can be applied universally. This project, therefore, seeks to identify lessons from Korea that can be adapted to Zimbabwe’s own circumstances, strengths and priorities,” he said.

AfDB country manager Mrs Everusalem Fasika said the programme was intended to strengthen linkages between universities, researchers, entrepreneurs, industry, financial institutions and markets.

“Zimbabwe already has a strong foundation through Education 5.0, innovation hubs and industrial parks. Therefore, the opportunity was to strengthen the connection between universities, research, entrepreneurs, industry, finance and markets so that more ideas can become viable enterprises,” she said.

Mrs Fasika said the initiative should now move from research and recommendations to implementation.

“For the African Development Bank, knowledge sharing takes value when the knowledge is translated into institutions, businesses, jobs and measures of economic transformation,” she said.

She urged stakeholders to prioritise the recommendations contained in the final report, particularly those aimed at strengthening private-sector linkages, commercialising research and improving access to skills and financing for young innovators.

“The success of this programme will ultimately be measured not only by the quality of the report we receive today, but by what the country can do from it,” said Mrs Fasika.

The programme is expected to complement Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 and Education 5.0 thrust by supporting the transformation of research and innovation into enterprises, employment and industrial development.

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