12 Coworking Spaces in Zimbabwe

About Zimbabwe

Ranking 80th in the world for its Internet download speed, Zimbabwe definitely gave its neighbor South Africa a nudge in the surprise ICT stakes. A landlocked country and officially known as the Republic of Zimbabwe, it borders Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa, sitting between the Limpopo and Zambezi Rivers. Harare, the country's capital, is the tourist jumping-off point to one of its brilliant wildlife parks and safari drives. It is home to hippos, an astounding array of birdlife and rhinos frolicking on the riverbanks.

There are several ethnic and racial groups living in Zimbabwe with a population of 14,546,961 of which 46.5% are connected to the Internet (only 5.8% play on Facebook). The country does have one of the highest literary rates on the African continent (90.7%), but in reality it is estimated that it should be 75% of the population that can read and write. The large part of its citizens live a rural existence of subsistence farming, growing crops and rearing animals despite the abundance of natural resources such as copper, nickel, iron ore etc. In spite of this, it is one of the poorest countries in Africa with most of its citizens living below the poverty line and a high unemployment rate. The country has been referred to as one of the HIV/AIDS "killing zones" in Africa, despite awareness campaigns. Government corruption is rife and there are numerous environmental issues, such as land degradation and soil erosion plaguing the country.

It has been reported that the Zimbabwean government is in the throes of setting up a $25 million innovation fund in 2016 in an attempt to support the growth of an ICT ecosystem, but it remains to be seen whether this fund will fare any better than the previous ones that have been overrun by corruption and high loan default rates.

To find a coworking space in Zimbabwe, browse through our interactive map below.