Technology that
helps bees thrive
Smart Hives is a climate-smart apiculture venture. We manufacture smart beehives, and we use them ourselves to prove they work.
Our Mission
To strengthen climate resilience and improve beekeeping productivity for small-scale apiculture farmers in Zimbabwe, with locally made smart hives that protect bee colonies and support better honey harvests.
Our Vision
A future where every small-scale beekeeper in Zimbabwe can protect their colonies and build a sustainable livelihood from honey, supported by technology designed and made locally.
Built for bees.
Made for you.
Smart Hives brings together locally made hardware, IoT monitoring and practical beekeeping knowledge. Each hive is designed to keep colonies healthier and more resilient, with less intervention and better information for the person looking after them.
Smart hive manufacturing is our core innovation. Our own honey production is how we show, in the real world, what that innovation delivers.
Founder & Product Engineer
Engineering the future of climate-resilient beekeeping.
Smart Hives was founded by Prince Duri to develop locally manufactured, solar-powered technology for small-scale beekeepers, particularly in climate-sensitive areas such as the Inyangani Mountain region of Manicaland, Zimbabwe. With a background in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Prince leads the development of the venture's IoT-enabled monitoring and automated thermoregulation systems.
Since December 2024, he has led the development of four working prototypes, tested with Gavani Farms and Mwenje Wepano Apicultures, and showcased at the Harare Institute of Technology Agricultural Expo, where Smart Hives received second prize.
His focus is on combining engineering and practical apiculture to develop technology that protects bee colonies, improves honey production and enables data-driven beekeeping.
- Based in Zimbabwe
- Electrical & Electronics Engineering
- Agricultural Technology
Two sides, one purpose
1. Smart hive manufacturing
We build and sell smart beehives to other beekeepers. This is our core innovation.
2. Honey production
We use the technology in our own apiaries and produce honey, measuring yields and colony survival.
3. Growth through adoption
As more beekeepers adopt Smart Hives, the benefits reach the wider honey value chain.
Small-scale beekeepers,
where it matters most
Our primary customers and beneficiaries are small-scale apiculture farmers, particularly in climate-sensitive areas such as Zimbabwe's Inyangani Mountain region, and the wider honey value chain that depends on them.
- Protect colonies from heat and temperature swings
- Know hive conditions without opening the hive
- Harvest with confidence, using weight data
- Build steadier, more sustainable livelihoods