Zambia Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in zambia, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Information and Communication Technology
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Overview

Zambia’s national voice, local loop, mobile internet, and private data network sectors remain highly competitive, with increased activity from the top mobile network operators and ongoing new market entrants. While its efforts are not always effective, the Zambian government has been promoting the country’s digital transformation through SMART Zambia and the 2023-2026 National Electronic Government Plan, which aim to fully digitize government systems, procedures, processes, and services. The government also tries to promote eCommerce, eAgriculture, eHealth, eEducation, and trade promotion programs for goods and services.  
Competition between providers, particularly MTN and Airtel, has accelerated the upgrade of 3G/4G cellular networks to 5G, with MTN’s commercial launch in 2022 and Airtel’s broader rollout in 2023. The government and private sector have expanded mobile coverage infrastructure further, now boasting a fiber-optic backbone of over 18,000 kilometers and nearly nationwide reach for 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G services. Mobile phone network coverage is extensive, reaching 92 percent of the population with broadband-capable mobile services. However, internet penetration as of early 2025 is only 33 percent%. Many users still contend with slow speeds, consistent with Zambia’s low rankings on the most recent global internet access freedom indices. MTN and Airtel remain the dominant providers for both 4G and 5G services. Zamtel continues as a player, and Starlink’s satellite internet is now available. Zambia’s e-commerce sector grew by 26 percent in 2024, further demonstrating digital adoption and online trade activity. 

Opportunities

Opportunities include provision of retail fiber optic, mobile, and internet service providers, software development, and ICT parks (similar to business incubators). Data storage and cloud computing have been  the fastest growing subsectors. Albeit still nascent, Zambia has a promising tech startup ecosystem, with emergent tech companies, several incubators, and a substantive venture capital network.

Key government and regulatory agencies:

Ministry of Science and Technology
Los Angeles Boulevard
Longacres
Lusaka, Zambia  
info@motl.gov.zm    
https://www.motl.gov.zm/

Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA)
Independence Avenue
P. O. Box 36871
Lusaka, Zambia
Tel: +260 211 246 702 | +260 211 244 424
info@zicta.zm 
https://www.zicta.zm

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