Year-round challenge marketplace / Forum week in Bulawayo
Industry brings the challenge. Local teams build the solution.
Organisations post the operational problems they need solved. Innovators, researchers, consultancies and technologists respond with working approaches. The organisation decides who to shortlist.
Marketplace open year-round · 1 open challenge, post or respond any time
Official launch in 0 days 00 hrs 00 min 00 sec
Zimbabwe International Conference and Exhibition Smart City, Bulawayo
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, researchers, consultancies and technologists build the solutions. The organisation decides who to shortlist, 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, business conference 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.
Open now
Build Practical Technology Solutions for Sustainable Zimbabwean Media
Zimbabwe Media Commission. Success means producing practical, pilot-ready technology that helps Zimbabwean media organisations improve their workflows, use limited resources mor…
Read the brief or download the Challenge Spec PDF. No account needed.
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 challenge with context and, where you can, a pilot budget.
-
02
Match
Browse open challenges, submit your approach, and wait for the organisation to shortlist strong fits.
Review submitted solutions. You do the final screening and selection.
-
03
Build
Develop a working solution with feedback from mentors and the company that posted the challenge.
Give feedback while matched teams build towards a solution you would actually buy.
-
04
Close
Pitch live at the forum, then sit down with buyers and investors in a private Deal Room.
Watch pitches, sign MOUs, agree on 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 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
Rooms where deals start.
Innovators pitch to decision makers. Companies, investors and solution providers meet in private sessions to discuss problem–solution fit.
- 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
21–24 September 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.
What partners say
ZBIF turned our plant efficiency challenge into a funded pilot within one forum cycle.
The Deal Room kept mentors, corporates, and our team aligned until the MOU was signed.
As an investor, match quality and structured outcomes beat another networking app.
Questions
Can't find your answer? Contact the secretariat.
Is ZBIF just an event?
No. ZBIF is a year-round marketplace, not a one-off event. Organisations post real problems as challenges, innovators respond, and the best matches move into Deal Rooms to agree pilots, partnerships and investment. That runs all year online. Forum week (21 to 24 September 2027 in Bulawayo) is where shortlisted teams pitch in person and deals are signed, but it is one part of ZBIF, not the whole of it.
What does ZBIF do?
ZBIF connects Zimbabwean organisations that face real operational problems with the local innovators who can solve them. Companies, public bodies and investors bring the problems. Innovators, university teams, consultancies and freelancers build the answers. The organisation that posted the problem decides who to work with.
Who is ZBIF for?
Two groups. Organisations (companies, NGOs, public bodies, investors) that want a problem solved, and innovators (startups, technology companies, university and research teams, consultancies and freelancers) who can build the solution. Each signs up with their own account type.
How does my organisation post a challenge?
Sign up as an organisation, complete your profile, then choose Submit a challenge. Describe the problem, where the challenge will be held, what a strong solution looks like, the deliverables, your pilot budget (or agree it once a team is matched) and the date applications close. It is published to the marketplace straight away.
What makes a good challenge?
Describe the outcome you want, not the solution you expect. Share numbers where you can, such as downtime, losses, costs or time spent, and list the data and access you can give matched teams. Clear challenges attract stronger responses.
What are challenge tracks?
Tracks split a broad challenge into focus areas, such as Audience growth or Content verification. They are optional. Each track appears on the challenge page as Challenge Track 1, Challenge Track 2 and so on, so innovators can see which part they are answering.
Can we keep editing a challenge after posting it?
Yes. Organisations can edit the brief, photos and close date from My challenges, or remove a challenge. The ZBIF secretariat can also help with edits.
Who can apply to a challenge?
Anyone with a ZBIF innovator account: startups, technology companies, consultancies, university or research teams and freelancers. At least one team member must be based in Zimbabwe. Some challenges ask shortlisted teams to attend in person at the challenge location, which you confirm when you apply.
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
- 21–24 September 2027Zimbabwe International Conference and Exhibition Smart City, BulawayoTransport and accommodation to be arranged by attendees.
- Partners
- Sponsorship and collaborationBanking, venue and investment partners 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
Confirmed partners of the forum.
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.