STRATEGIC INTELLIGENCE

FORUM 2025

CZI Annual Business Conference

8-10 | OCTOBER | 2025

New Venue: Hyatt Regency, The Meikles Harare
Pre-conference: 3 October (Hyatt Regency, The Meikles Hotel)

Partnership Opportunities Available

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FOREWORD

The Strategic Intelligence Forum is CZI’s Annual Business Conference, structured to deliver insights and practical value for enterprises. It focuses on strategy, innovation, sustainability, AI and digital transformation, and entrepreneurship, targeting both C-Suiters and those on their way to the C-Suite to impact their continued professional development in non-traditional but emerging competency areas that are tied to VUCA and to the global mega trends for enterprise excellence.

We have curated this forum based on market feedback over the past couple of years and we look forward to co-creating value with business leaders.

MASTER TRAINERS AND SPEAKERS

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  • Sofia Svingby
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  • Karen Jiri
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  • Douglas Kativu
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  • Nina Al-Ghussein Norrman
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  • Derek Odoteye
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  • Dr. McLean Sibanda
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  • Dr. Joseph Yose
  • Nicholas Jones
  • Luckson Madziwa
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  • Collen Tapfumaneyi
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  • Nancy Guzha
  • Vimbayi Nyakudya

Wednesday, 8 October 2025

The Country Club, Newlands

Scenario, Futures, and Systems Approaches to Strategy and Business Model Innovation

  • Scenario, foresight, and systems approaches to business strategy.
  • Energy efficiency business case – demonstrating productivity, efficiency improvements, and cost savings from BICC CAFCA.
  • Human capital trends in Zimbabwean companies compared with the pace of change in role and competency demands.

Thursday, 9 October 2025

The Country Club, Newlands

AI for Business

  • Masterclass on implementation, digital sovereignty, and localisation.
  • Launch of pilot project.
  • NMB case study on participating in the digital and AI economy, and scaling local solutions beyond Zimbabwe.
  • Launch of the AI Community of Practice and a technical assistance initiative for Zimbabwean AI.
  • AI Exhibition featuring local developers and solution providers.
  • Dr. Joseph Yose
  • Nicholas Jones

Key Facilitators/ Presenters

  • AI Implementation Roadmap Masterclass
  • Masterclass on implementation, digital sovereignty, and localisation.
  • Launch of pilot project.
  • Luckson Madziwa
  • Launch of the AI Community of Practice and a technical assistance initiative for Zimbabwean AI.
  • Collen Tapfumaneyi
  • Innovative Solutions for Africa's Capital Markets - Escrow Group Story
  • AI Marketplace
  • AI Exhibition featuring local developers and solution providers.

Friday, 10 October 2025

The Country Club, Newlands

The Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Forum

  • Sessions on strengthening Zimbabwe’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
  • Exploration of linkages with innovation, investment, and industry.
  • SME and start-up showcases.

Friday, 3 October 2025

Hyatt Regency, The Meikles

Sustainability – Beyond Reporting and Compliance: The Business Case

  • Embedding impact in strategic priorities
  • Moving from intent to long-term impact
  • Double materiality and due diligence as enablers
  • Linking sustainability with strategy and business models

Food For Thought
Are those championing sustainability also charged with strategy or is there a disconnect where those championing sustainability are far from the strategy and business model?

SHOWCASE YOUR BRAND AT THE FORUM

Tent

$300

3 X 3m
Exhibition – Costs (Space Only) for the duration of the Conference
Tent

$600

6 X 3m
Exhibition – Costs (Space Only) for the duration of the Conference
Tent

$900

9 X 3m
Exhibition – Costs (Space Only) for the duration of the Conference
Tent

$1 000

Large size stand
Exhibition – Costs (Space Only) for the duration of the Conference
PROCEED TO CZI WEBSITE

For more information

  • +263 789 092 977
  • membership@czi.co.zw
  • events@czi.co.zw
  • 31 Josiah Chinamano Avenue, Harare
  • Hyatt Regency Harare, The Meikles
  • Sofia Svingby
  • Senior Advisor, Enact Sustainable Strategies

Sofia Svingby is a senior sustainability expert and advisor based in Sweden, with extensive experience across industry, consultancy, and international development cooperation. She currently serves as Senior Advisor at Enact Sustainable Strategies, where she supports organisations in developing and implementing sustainability strategies, ESG, reporting, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder engagement.

Sofia brings deep experience from developing, anchoring, and driving sustainability strategy in one of the world’s largest industrial companies, Atlas Copco Group, where she served as Vice President-Sustainability. She has also led sustainability strategy development, change management and change communication efforts as Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Prime Weber Shandwick, supporting global clients in navigating complex transformation processes as well as sustainability reporting requirements. Her career also includes serving as Acting CEO & Director of Operations at the International Council of Swedish Industry.

With a global outlook shaped by work in Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, including Zimbabwe, the Middle East, and Asia, Sofia brings a unique blend of strategic insight and practical expertise. She is passionate about enabling systemic transformation and helping organisations integrate sustainability at the heart of their strategy and operations.

Enact is an international business advisory firm, founded in 2005, dedicated to accelerating sustainability and long-term impact. With offices across Europe and Asia, Enact supports organizations worldwide in integrating sustainability into their core strategies and operations.

Enact’s suite of services includes sustainability strategy, ESG reporting, due diligence, human rights advisory, and training. Through active sustainability networks, the firm fosters capacity building, peer learning, and dialogue, equipping organizations and professionals with practical tools for change.

Combining global expertise with a collaborative, hands-on approach, Enact empowers businesses to act responsibly, strengthen trust, and create sustainable value.

  • Karen Jiri
  • Commercial Director CICADA

With over 15 years of experience in the agriculture sector and related downstream industries, including agro-processing, FMCG manufacturing, and retail, Karen Jiri is a transformational leader and business strategist who empowers people and organisations to unlock their full potential. She is the Commercial Director at Cicada, a diversified group of companies in the agriculture, forestry, renewable energy, and carbon reduction sectors.

Karen leverages her expertise in strategy, managerial finance, business optimisation, change management, restructuring, and process re-engineering to drive growth and transformation. She holds a Master’s in Business Leadership (MBL) from the UNISA School of Business Leadership and a BCompt (Hons) degree in Accounting Science from UNISA, and completed her articles of clerkship with Deloitte Zimbabwe.

Recognised through awards and publications for her outstanding leadership, Karen is passionate about making a positive impact, creating order out of chaos, and turning good into great.

CICADA is one of Southern Africa’s largest diversified agri-businesses, recognised for its commitment to sustainable practices and the green economy. The company focuses on climate-positive solutions in agriculture, ecosystem restoration, carbon reduction, and renewable energy. Through its flagship subsidiary, Cicada Solar, it recently delivered the partial commissioning of 1.5MWp rooftop solar power at TPZ in Harare, completed three months ahead of schedule, to help Zimbabwean manufacturers cut energy costs and increase production uptime.

  • Douglas Kativu
  • GRI Africa Director

Douglas Kativu is a leading voice for sustainability in Africa, serving as Director of GRI Africa, where he champions transparency, accountability, and responsible business growth across the
continent. With more than a decade of driving multi-stakeholder initiatives, he has helped shape global standards such as ISO 26000 on social responsibility and actively contributed to
environmental networks tackling Africa’s most pressing challenges. Armed with expertise in Environmental Management and Applied Physics, alongside professional credentials in ISO
14001 and OHSAS 18001, he brings both scientific rigour and visionary leadership to advancing Africa’s sustainable future.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the world’s leading independent organisation for sustainability reporting. Its globally recognised Standards, used by over 14,000 organisations in more than 100 countries, provide a trusted framework for transparent disclosure and informed decision-making. Backed by a multi-stakeholder process and confirmed by 2024 KPMG research
as the most widely adopted reporting framework, GRI continues to set the benchmark for sustainability reporting worldwide.

  • Nina Al-Ghussein Norrman
  • Future Strategist and Senior Advisor at Kairos Future

Nina Al-Ghussein Norrman is a Future Strategist and Senior Advisor at Kairos Future, specialising in helping organisations navigate uncertainty, identify emerging opportunities, and build
robust long-term strategies. With a background in strategic foresight and organisational development, she supports leadership teams, public institutions, and companies in translating insights about societal change, technology, and business landscapes into actionable strategies.

Nina also serves as Course Director of the International Certified Future Strategist (ICFS) program, one of the world’s most comprehensive hands-on trainings in strategic foresight. The ICFS program equips professionals with a full methodology for future-oriented strategy work, combining trend and scenario analysis, visioning, and strategy development. Participants conduct applied projects within their own organisations during the six-month program, ensuring direct impact and lasting results.

Kairos Future is an international consultancy and research company with more than 30 years of experience in futures and strategy. Based in Stockholm and working globally, Kairos Future helps organisations understand and shape their futures by combining trend and foresight research, strategy development, and innovation support. Through Kairos Academy, the company also provides
internationally recognised training programs in foresight and strategy, such as the ICFS, along with tailored in-house courses for organizations. Together, these services enable leaders and organisations to anticipate change, build future-readiness, and create sustainable value in a rapidly shifting world.

  • Derek Odoteye
  • Group Chief Executive Officer TSL Limited

Derek has over 20 years of experience in leadership, strategy, business development, agriculture, logistics, real estate, finance, accounting and risk management. He is currently the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange listed TSL Limited. Derek has held several leadership positions within that group including Group Chief Operating Officer, Group Chief Finance Officer, Group Operations Executive, Managing Director for the Logistics operations, General Manager for the Real Estate operations and Group Business Development Executive.

Derek spent 10 years with Deloitte, an international Professional Services firm and was Senior Manager in Assurance Services. He has worked in Zimbabwe, New York, New Jersey and the United
Arab Emirates. Derek is a Chartered Accountant, a member of the Executive Committee of the Harare Chapter of Young Presidents Organization (YPO) International, a Board member of the Harare
International School and an alumnus of Harvard Business School.

TSL Limited is a diversified group listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, anchored on three strategic pillars: Agriculture, Logistics, and Real Estate. Established in 1957, the company has expanded through a deliberate diversification strategy to provide integrated services across Zimbabwe’s agricultural value chain. Its Agriculture Cluster supplies chemicals, packaging, agronomy, and produce marketing; its Logistics Cluster manages multi-modal transport solutions in five cities; and its Real Estate arm develops infrastructure that enables trade and growth. With core values of Integrity, Innovation, Integration, Improvement, and Intelligence, TSL continues to create sustainable value for farming communities, businesses, and the regional economy.

  • Dr. McLean Sibanda
  • Managing Director at Bigen Global Limited

Dr. McLean Sibanda is a seasoned C-suite executive and thought leader with close to three decades of experience driving sustainable development and prosperity in Africa through innovation, entrepreneurship, intellectual property, and infrastructure. Having worked across 26 African countries and 23 countries globally, he brings deep insight into the role of innovation in economic development and the nuances of diverse economies.

As Managing Director at Bigen Global Limited, Dr. Sibanda oversees the Group’s expansion across Africa, leading high-impact projects that connect investment management with access to sustainable social and economic infrastructure. His expertise covers infrastructure development, strategic turnaround, science parks management, entrepreneurship, and innovation management.

He also serves as Adjunct Professor of Innovation at UNISA, Visiting Faculty at Africa University, and expert tutor and consultant for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), shaping the next
generation of African leaders, policymakers, innovators, and intellectual property professionals.

A published author, Dr. Sibanda has written Nuts and Bolts, exploring the interplay of entrepreneurship and innovation in Africa’s development, and Footprints, highlighting the role of intellectual property in harnessing creativity to meet development objectives, including the SDGs.

Bigen Global Limited, is a leading infrastructure development company which delivers innovative solutions in water, energy, transport, agriculture, healthcare, and real estate. Guided by its ethos of “Doing Good While Doing Business,” Bigen combines engineering, finance, and advisory services to create sustainable impact for communities and economies. The company integrates technical excellence with development insight, positioning itself as a catalyst for transformative change across the continent.

  • Dr. Joseph Yose
  • Accomplished Statistician and Data Scientist

Dr. Yose is an experienced researcher and data scientist with a strong track record across industries including manufacturing, automotive, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and finance. He
holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics and specialises in statistical and mathematical modelling, with advanced expertise in AI and natural language processing (NLP).

Passionate about statistics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, Dr. Yose applies data-driven methods to tackle complex industrial challenges. He has delivered influential workshops across EMEA showcasing the value of applying Six Sigma and AI tools early in process improvement.

As a Visiting Researcher at Coventry University, collaborating with the L4 Collaboration, he continues to advance the integration of AI into industrial practice. He has also taught at both Coventry University and Warwick University, strengthening the link between academic research and applied innovation.

Dr. Yose’s collaborations with Rolls-Royce and other industry partners highlight how academia–industry synergies can accelerate the maturation of disruptive solutions. He has most recently co-presented at the Royal Statistical Society Conference in Edinburgh, where his work on process simulation, Minitab, and Six Sigma methods received strong engagement.

Recognised for translating advanced analytics into practical strategies, Dr. Yose’s mission is to bridge academic innovation with industrial application. By combining AI, industrial statistics, and process improvement, he helps organisations create scalable, sustainable, and intelligent systems that deliver measurable productivity gains.

  • Collen Tapfumaneyi
  • Founder of Escrow Group

Collen is founder of Escrow Group that has operations and solutions in 10 African countries and Asia. The group includes Corpserve Registrars; Financial Securities Exchange and Escrow Fintech. He is founder and CEO of the Zimbabwe Mercantile Exchange (ZMX) and is currently Chairman of both the Committee of SADC Stock Exchanges (CoSSE) and the AfCFTA Association of Commodities Exchanges (A-ACX). Collen is a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment and holds an MSc Finance; MBA and ACCA qualifications.

Escrow Group operates across 10 African countries and Asia, with businesses including Corpserve Registrars, Financial Securities Exchange, and Escrow Fintech. Its mission is to build an inclusive financial infrastructure that drives growth and strengthens trust in trade, agriculture, and commerce. By integrating regulatory expertise with cutting-edge technology, Escrow Group delivers tailored fintech solutions while ensuring compliance in dynamic markets. Beyond its digital platforms, the Group plays a key role in advancing continental integration through the African Exchanges Linkage Project and AfCFTA, positioning
itself as a catalyst for Africa’s economic future.

  • Nancy Guzha
  • Co-founder and CEO of Grobbie Best Foods

Nancy Guzha is a distinguished general manager and agricultural economist with a proven record of growing enterprises and revitalising underperforming organisations. Her career, rooted in marketing and sales, spans senior leadership roles including Brand Development Director for Unilever Africa, Middle East and Turkey, Managing Director of Unilever Zimbabwe, Vice President of Unilever Southern Africa, and CEO of Cairns Holdings. Recognised as National Businesswoman of the Year in 2012 and ranked among Zimbabwe’s Top 10 Most Inspirational Women, Nancy continues to shape business leadership as co-founder and CEO of Grobbie Best Foods.

She holds a BTEC in Land-Based Industries from Harper Adams University (UK), a BSc (Hons) in Agricultural Economics and Management from Reading University (UK), and has undertaken advanced leadership programmes, including Women’s Leadership at INSEAD, Singapore. Nancy also contributes her expertise as a board member, having served as Vice Chair of AFC Holdings, Chairperson of AFC Land and Development Bank, and director on
boards including ZIMNAT Life, Zimbabwe Investment Authority, Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA), and Black Crystal Environmental Consulting.

GROBBIE BEST FOODS is a new and modern FMCG facility consisting of agro-processing and manufacturing factories, located in New Ardbennie, Harare. The company’s main products are maize based food products including Gutsa Roller Meal, 1Jena Super Refined and ZIMBANAX maize snacks. Grobbie also feeds
into the supply chain of several large manufacturing food and stockfeed companies with various products including maize flour, grits and bran.