Zimbabwe’s ActivitIA helps users discover real-life activities happening near them

Zimbabwean startup ActivitIA is helping people create, discover, share, claim and connect around real-life activities happening near them.

Founded in 2025 by Munyaradzi Madziwa, ActivitIA brings together activities such as food, sport, music, church events, school activities, wellness, family activities, markets, community events and spontaneous plans. People can browse what is happening around them, open activity pages, share activities, follow organisers, invite others, join conversations, and find company for activities.

“A key part of the model is that anyone can post an activity or upload a poster where they are. The rightful organiser or owner can then claim the activity, correct details, manage the page and grow their audience. This reflects how activities already circulate in our context: through posters, WhatsApp flyers, Facebook posts, schools, churches, venues, food spots, community groups and word of mouth,” Madziwa said. “We see ActivitIA not only as an events app, but as a social layer around real-life activity.”

He said the gap the startup was founded to fill is that “real-life activities are everywhere, but discovery is fragmented”.

“In Zimbabwe and many African contexts, activities are shared through posters, WhatsApp groups, Instagram posts, Facebook pages, word of mouth, schools, churches, venues, food spots, community groups and personal networks. This means people often miss activities because they never saw the poster, saw it too late, did not know whether it was for them, or had no one to go with,” Madziwa said.

“Existing tools solve parts of the problem, but not the whole social activity layer. Facebook and Instagram are useful for promotion, but activities easily disappear in feeds. WhatsApp is powerful for private sharing, but it is not searchable as a public discovery layer. Ticketing platforms focus mainly on paid events. Google Maps focuses on places rather than live social activity. Event platforms often assume formal events, while many local activities are informal, recurring, community-based or poster-led.”

ActivitIA is different because it is built around how activities already circulate locally. It connects discovery, posters, organisers, places, sharing, claiming, conversations and social participation in one platform. Currently founder-funded, the startup has seen encouraging uptake.

“The platform is live and we are seeing growing interest from users, organisers and ecosystem actors who immediately understand the problem,” said Madziwa.

“The strongest response so far has come from people who recognise that many good activities are happening around them, but there is no single place to find, share or organise around them. Organisers also understand the value of turning posters into digital activity pages and making their activities easier to discover and claim.”

ActivitIA is currently focused on Zimbabwe, with Harare as the primary early market and wider Zimbabwean cities as the next layer of growth. This includes places such as Bulawayo, Victoria Falls, Gweru, Mutare, Masvingo and other urban activity centres.

“The longer-term opportunity is regional. The same activity discovery problem exists across many African cities and communities where social life is organised through posters, WhatsApp, informal networks, churches, schools, venues, food spots and community organisers,” said Madziwa.

“Our immediate plan is to deepen Zimbabwe first, improve the product, grow activity density, support organisers, and then expand into similar African markets.”

ActivitIA is currently free for early adopters and organisers. 

“At this stage, we are prioritising user growth, activity supply, organiser trust and community adoption over revenue,” said Madziwa.

“Our future revenue model is likely to include paid activity promotion, sponsored discovery, enhanced organiser visibility, venue and organiser tools, and small-business features that help activity owners reach the right audiences. The intention is to keep discovery accessible while building revenue from optional visibility and organiser services.”