Harnessing State Capability in Embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Is Zimbabwe Prepared?

Abstract

Globally, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has revolutionized all sectors of the economy be it the public sector, private sector, or nongovernmental organizations. As such, to adopt advanced technological tools and platforms, tremendous effort has been witnessed in both more advanced and less advanced economies. Zimbabwe is one of the countries in the Global South poised to embrace the disruptive and yet advanced Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) to grow the economy and improve the standard of living for its citizens. This chapter adopts a literature review analysis to understand the state of preparedness in Zimbabwe by analyzing the economy and other key economic sectors of an institution. The capacities required to harness stakeholder efforts in embracing the 4IR were examined. The qualitative findings from documents were premised on the analysis of technology, innovation, policy-making institutions, availability of infrastructure, human skills, and political will. The analysis indicated that the Zimbabwe government understood the importance of technology development and innovation as key to advancing the economy, while the policy-making institutions are weak in supporting the vast technology and development initiatives in the country. The absence of digital infrastructure to support the development of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and other digital technologies in rural–urban spheres discourage the state’s capacity in exploring the 4IR. The conclusions drawn for this chapter have indicated that political will is critical to allow technology adoption while innovation is equally fundamental for attaining social and economic within the 4IR discourse in Zimbabwe. Robust institutions that comply with the rule of law while projecting principles of good governance such as accountability and transparency are fundamental for attracting stakeholders that can help accelerate technology development, adoption, and innovation in Zimbabwe.