Year-round challenge marketplace / Forum week in Bulawayo
Industry brings the problem. Local teams build the answer.
Organisations post the operational problems they need solved. Innovators, consultancies and technologists respond with working approaches. AI recommends strong fits, and the organisation decides who to shortlist.
Marketplace open year-round · 12 open challenges, post or respond any time
Forum week starts in 0 days 00 hrs 00 min 00 sec
Zimbabwe International Conference and Exhibition Smart City
About ZBIF
Where Zimbabwe’s industry meets its innovators.
The Zimbabwe Business Innovation Forum connects organisations that face real operational problems with the local innovators who can solve them. Companies, public bodies and investors bring the problems. Innovators, consultancies and technologists build the answers. AI ranks recommended fits for the organisation to screen, and forum week accelerates the deals.
- Real problemsevery challenge comes from a Zimbabwean organisation
- Local teamsinnovators, consultancies, technologists and solution teams
- Forum weeklive pitches, Deal Rooms and an innovation showcase
- Pilots that lastmatched teams test their solution on site
Open challenges
Each one comes from an organisation with a real operational problem, and most come with a pilot budget.
Open now
Predictive maintenance for underground pumps
Mining operator · Mashonaland West. Unplanned pump failures halt production and raise safety risk. We need a local solution that uses existing sensor feeds to predict failures 7–14 days …
Read the brief or download the Challenge Spec PDF. No account needed.
Smallholder crop advisory over WhatsApp
Extension officers cannot reach every farmer in season. We need practical agronomy advice delivered in local l…
SME invoice finance eligibility scoring
Credit teams spend days reviewing thin-file SMEs. We need a transparent scoring model using bankable documents…
Factory energy load shedding playbook
Load shedding scrapes productivity. We need a scheduling tool that reorders shifts and high-draw machines arou…
How ZBIF works
Four stages, from the first challenge brief to a signed pilot.
-
01
Submit
Create your team profile: who you are, your sector, and what you can build.
Describe a real operational problem, with context and, where you can, a pilot budget.
-
02
Match
Browse open challenges, submit your approach, and get AI-ranked as a recommended fit when you match well.
Review AI-recommended rankings of solutions. You do the final screening and selection.
-
03
Build
Develop a working answer with feedback from mentors and the company that posted the challenge.
Give feedback while matched teams build toward a pitch you would actually buy.
-
04
Close
Pitch live at the forum, then sit down with buyers and investors in a private Deal Room.
Watch the pitches, then agree MOUs, pilots or procurement in a Deal Room.
Who takes part
Six ways in, whether you bring a problem, a solution, capital or an audience.
Innovators
Build a solution and pitch it
Consultancies, technologists, university teams and solution providers. Respond to live industry challenges, refine with feedback, and progress toward a pilot.
Join as an innovator
Industry & organisations
Propose a challenge
Businesses, NGOs and public bodies. Publish an operational brief, review AI-recommended responses, and shortlist teams for a Deal Room or pilot.
Propose a challenge- Investors & buyers VCs, DFIs and procurement teams meet matched teams in private Deal Rooms.
- Sponsors Back the forum, the Deal Rooms or the innovation showcase.
- Delegates Executives, students, media and government attend pitches and exhibitions.
- Speakers & mentors Industry experts who guide teams and take the stage in forum week.
Eight sub-themes
Every challenge sits under one sub-theme, so you can follow the sectors you know. Pick one to see what's open.
Deal Rooms
Video rooms where deals start.
Innovators pitch by video to a board of investors, the challenge owner and ZBIF officials. Companies, investors and other organisations meet ZBIF in private sessions to talk through the problems they face. Every session is 30 minutes, and the people who can say yes are in the room.
- Signed MOUsbetween matched teams and challenge owners
- Pilot agreementsto test the solution on site
- Investment leadsfrom VCs and development finance
- Supplier onboardingthrough procurement teams
Forum week
27–28 April 2027
Zimbabwe International Conference and Exhibition Smart City, Bulawayo
- Live pitches. Matched teams pitch to the companies that posted the challenges.
- Deal Rooms. Private meetings for MOUs, pilots and procurement.
- Showcase. University and industry exhibitions on the expo floor.
- One gate pass. A QR pass covers entry and meals on the days you register for.
Questions
Can't find your answer? Contact the secretariat.
Is registration free?
Fees vary by participant type. Most pathways are free; exhibitor packages are paid.
Who should register as an innovator?
Innovators, consultancies, technologists, university teams and freelancers who can build a solution to a live industry challenge.
Who should register as an organisation?
Companies, NGOs, development finance institutions and public bodies that want to post operational challenges, review matched teams, and close pilots or procurement in Deal Rooms.
How does matching work?
When solutions are submitted, AI ranks recommended fits for that challenge. The organisation that posted it does final screening and selection.
How do Deal Rooms work?
Once both sides accept interest, you get a private room to message, book meetings and track the deal through to an MOU or pilot. Physical rooms at the venue are booked in 30-minute slots.
Can I register on WhatsApp?
Yes. The official ZBIF chatbot collects your details and creates your account. You then receive an email with a temporary password to sign in.
Contact
Talk to the organisers.
Questions about registration, partnership, speaking or attending the forum? Send a message here. It goes straight to the ZBIF secretariat, and we reply by email.
- Forum
- 27–28 April 2027Zimbabwe International Conference and Exhibition Smart City, BulawayoAccommodation and transport are arranged by each attendee.
- Partners
- Sponsorship and collaborationBanking, venue and investment partners ZB, ZITF and NVCCZ support the forum. To join them, choose Partnership in the form.
- Already registered?
- Use your dashboardQuestions about a challenge can be asked on its page, and every reply arrives in Messages.
Partners
Anchored by industry and the forum ecosystem
ZB Financial Holdings, ZITF, National Venture Capital Company of Zimbabwe and more.
Meet the partners
Create an account. Post or respond any time.
Sign up as an organisation, innovator or exhibitor, then complete your profile once you are in.