Zimbabwe To Use Solar Indaba To Sell Its Clean Energy Story
Children at Majindane Primary School in Nyamandlovu, Matabeleland North, watched the lights flicker on for the first time this weekend. As the new solar-powered system hummed to life, Energy and Power Development Minister July Moyo was already thinking a step ahead: how to turn such small but significant projects into a national calling card.
Zimbabwe will host the 8th International Solar Alliance (ISA) Regional Committee Meeting for Africa in Victoria Falls this August, and Government wants the continent’s energy leaders to see what is happening far from conference halls – in schools, clinics and villages.
The gathering will bring African energy ministers, development partners, financiers and technical experts to Matabeleland North to assess solar deployment and identify new investment opportunities. For Zimbabwe, it is an opportunity to showcase expanding renewable energy projects and correct what Minister Moyo describes as persistent misconceptions about the country’s progress.
‘They Almost Think That We Are Liars’
Speaking at the Majindane Primary School electrification ceremony on Saturday, Minister Moyo said years of isolation and sanctions had left many international observers unaware of developments on the ground.
“When we go to international conferences, because we had been isolated, under sanctions, these figures that we are doing are not known internationally,” he said. “And when we tell them that Zimbabwe has done this, they almost think that we are liars. It is only when they come here and see what we are doing that they start to realise this is a serious business.”
The August ISA meeting, he added, will give visiting delegations a chance to tour projects and assess Zimbabwe’s progress in person.
“As a result, this year in August in this province (Matabeleland North) the whole of Africa is coming to attend a conference called the International Solar Alliance,” he said. “All the ministers of energy will have an opportunity to go around and see what we have been doing here in Zimbabwe.”
FFA Explainer:
The International Solar Alliance is a coalition of countries working to boost the use of solar energy worldwide, with a particular focus on countries with high solar potential. Regional committee meetings for Africa review progress, share experiences and look for ways to scale up investment in solar technologies.
What Zimbabwe Hopes To Show The Continent
Hosting the 8th ISA Regional Committee Meeting fits into Zimbabwe’s broader effort to diversify its energy mix away from an over-reliance on large thermal and hydro stations. Authorities are promoting:
- Grid-connected solar projects developed by independent power producers,
- Rural electrification using mini-grids and stand-alone solar systems,
- Solar installations at public institutions such as schools and clinics,
- Investment in clean energy technologies aligned with the Second Republic’s infrastructure and industrialisation agenda.
Government views the decision to host the meeting in Victoria Falls and Matabeleland North as a vote of confidence in Zimbabwe’s evolving role in regional energy development. It also supports National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) goals of improving electricity access, making the economy more resilient and supporting new industries.
For farmers, especially in dry provinces like Matabeleland North and parts of Masvingo, the focus on solar is not just about lights in classrooms. Solar-powered boreholes, cold chains for horticulture and dairy, and small irrigation schemes for crops and fodder all depend on reliable, affordable electricity.
Solar irrigation projects already operating in districts such as Insiza and Gokwe have shown how even small systems can stabilise yields for vegetables and maize, while powering drip lines that conserve scarce water.
Why Victoria Falls, Why Now?
Victoria Falls has become a favoured venue for regional and international meetings, thanks to its tourism infrastructure and transport links. Placing the ISA session there – and explicitly linking it to field visits in Matabeleland North – underlines the Government’s desire to anchor high-level discussions in practical examples.
The conference will gather Government officials, energy experts, financiers and development partners to review how far solar deployment has come in Africa, and where new money and technology could unlock faster growth. For Zimbabwe, that could mean:
- Fresh capital for utility-scale solar plants to complement Hwange and Kariba,
- Support for mini-grids and off-grid systems in remote farming areas,
- Technical partnerships on storage, smart grids and metering,
- Blended finance models to make solar packages affordable for small businesses and farm cooperatives.
These priorities echo the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which calls for universal access to modern energy services, and the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 on clean, affordable energy.
From Indaba Decisions To Village Transformers
For communities like Nyamandlovu, the success of the August indaba will be measured not only in communiqués, but in concrete changes – more transformers, more panels on roofs, more reliable pump sets on boreholes.
Projects such as the Majindane Primary School electrification show what is already possible. The challenge now is to turn individual schemes into a coherent clean energy landscape that connects urban and rural areas, big industry and smallholder farmers.
As African ministers drive through Matabeleland North in August, the lines of poles and glinting solar arrays they pass will carry a message the Government is keen to send: Zimbabwe is not just talking about energy transition; it is building parts of it in real time.
For the children doing homework under new electric lights in Nyamandlovu, and for farmers eyeing solar pumps to rescue their next maize or horticulture crop, the stakes at this regional solar indaba could hardly be higher.
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