Antony Chawagarira
ECONET AI, the artificial intelligence subsidiary of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, is set to launch a Ndebele-speaking customer-support chatbot later this month as the company aims to expand access to digital services in local languages.
The chatbot, developed using thousands of hours of recorded speech from Ndebele speakers, is being trained to understand customer queries and provide accurate responses in natural language.
Econet AI said the service would be introduced in phases, with ongoing training and refinement expected to enable fully conversational interactions in Ndebele by the end of the year.
This development follows the model used to create Yamurai, Econet AI’s Shona-speaking chatbot, which is already capable of handling more than 70 percent of customer enquiries.
Both systems are trained using real customer-service interactions, including exchanges in which Econet agents respond to enquiries and resolve customer problems.
The AI platforms currently operate alongside approximately 600 employees in Econet’s customer-service contact centres, complementing the work of human agents rather than replacing them.
Econet’s chatbots currently support English and Shona, while Ndebele and Tonga are being introduced as the company seeks to make its services accessible to a broader section of the Zimbabwean population.
The company also plans to expand the platforms to major regional and international languages, including Swahili, Mandarin, and French.
Beyond responding to customer enquiries, Econet AI intends to make its chatbots increasingly “agentic,” allowing them to perform tasks on behalf of users.
Such capabilities could enable customers to use the platforms to make restaurant reservations and carry out a range of everyday, business, and economic activities.
The multilingual and agentic AI initiative forms part of Econet’s broader strategy to harness artificial intelligence to improve customer service, increase accessibility, and provide faster assistance across its platforms.
Econet AI was launched earlier this year to develop artificial intelligence solutions tailored for the Zimbabwean market.
The company works closely with Cassava AI, the group’s global artificial intelligence business, combining international expertise with technology designed to address local needs.
