UNDP Zimbabwe Accelerator Lab

We work on navigating between formality and informality to help create opportunities to build innovative regulatory frameworks, understand behaviors and leverage networks for more sustainable growth.

As part of the first cohort of 60 Accelerator Labs that started operation in 2019, UNDP Zimbabwe officially launched our Accelerator Lab in November, 2019. We have advanced progress on two main challenges: navigating between formality and informality, and urban resilence. To better understand the complexity of the informal economy, the Lab has run a series of experiments that include testing whether visualizing daily informal market activities across Zimbabwe could yield insights on what factors affected vendors, markets and agricultural supply chains in Zimbabwe at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondly, we are using data to draw insights on how and to what extent COVID-19 has exacerbated vulnerabilities in urban cities across Zimbabwe.

The Lab has partnered with a variety of non-traditional partners to advance progress on its two main challenges, these include the creative economy, vendor associations, a tech company that provides data storytelling tools with immersive visualizations, and an international bank. The Lab in addition, is running small experiments with the country office to test moving from single point solutions to system transformation, whilst engaging donors on new financing mechanisms.