Natural history collections underpin botanical research, conservation planning and global biodiversity assessments. Digitisation is transforming historically analogue herbarium collections into accessible biodiversity knowledge infrastructures that support research, conservation threat assessments and policy reporting. However, the pace and scale of digitisation remain uneven globally, particularly in biodiversity-rich regions of the Global South. Zimbabwe provides an illustrative case study of both the opportunities and challenges associated with digitising national plant collections. The National Herbarium and Botanic Garden of Zimbabwe houses more than 500,000 vascular plant specimens, including approximately 3,000 type specimens, representing one of the largest herbarium collections in southern Africa. Until recently, access to these collections was largely restricted to physical consultation. Over the past two decades, several initiatives, including the African Plants Initiative, projects supported by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and targeted digitisation of crop wild relatives, have facilitated the mobilisation of specimen images and data. These initiatives have improved global accessibility of Zimbabwean plant records while contributing to biodiversity research and knowledge synthesis. However, the case also highlights persistent structural challenges including project-based funding, limited infrastructure, human capacity constraints and issues surrounding data governance and ownership. Zimbabwe’s experience demonstrates that strategic prioritisation, sustained capacity building and international collaboration are critical for enabling effective digitisation under resource-limited conditions. Strengthening national data mobilisation efforts will be essential for ensuring equitable participation in global biodiversity knowledge systems and safeguarding biodiversity information originating from the Global South.