MISA Zimbabwe 2nd IG Conference
Localising access in Zimbabwe
Chido Musodza
“If we seek to empower a community, then we must be aware that nothing reaches them as
effectively as words in their native language. So, if you want them to use mobile phones and
the internet, if you want technologies to have the impact it has everywhere else in the world,
then give it to them in a language and context that they can relate to.”

Analysis on localisation of the internet and mobile based applications in
Zimbabwe
Internet penetration and internet usage in Zimbabwe
a) ITU Estimates (2016)
internet)
b) POTRAZ report (March 2017)




23.12% (percentage of individuals using the
49% (internet penetration rate)

67% of youth (15-24 years) are using the Internet
Zimbabwe falls in the 20-40% category
Nearly 9 out of 10 young people not using the internet live in Africa or Asia and the
Pacific

Mobile penetration mobile usage
POTRAZ report (March 2017)

94.5% (95/100 people with active mobile lines)

Despite the fact that our penetration rates are so high, smartphones are not nearly as common
as dumb phones and feature phones.
Internet usage (what the internet is used Mobile phone usage (what are mobile
for)
phones used for)
 Mobile money transactions
 Mobile money transactions
 WhatsApp- voice and messaging
 Voice calls
 Facebook
 SMS
 Twitter
 WhatsApp
 Facebook
 Twitter
Policy



National Policy for Information and Communications Technology (2016)
ZimAsset

Localising access in Zimbabwe- Chido Musodza

Select target paragraph3