The ZICTA ICT Innovation Programme, launched in 2016, is a transformative initiative aimed at fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and digital inclusion in Zambia’s ICT sector. The programme’s core objective is to empower startups and innovators by providing technical, business, and financial support to develop scalable ICT solutions that address key socio-economic challenges. Through business development workshops, mentorship, networking platforms, and funding, the programme drives job creation, technological advancement, and sustainable growth.

Since its inception, the programme has empowered over 300 innovators, successfully commercialized 30+ startups, and created 200+ jobs. These results reflect its significant impact on community development, particularly in underserved sectors such as agriculture, health, education, and financial inclusion. Success stories like AgriPredict (an AI-powered agricultural risk management tool), Patumba (a mobile savings and investment platform), and E-Msika (an agri-tech startup connecting farmers with markets) have demonstrated how ICT innovations can improve livelihoods, boost productivity, and foster community resilience.

The programme directly contributes to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) through job creation and entrepreneurship; SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) by promoting technological innovation; and SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) through agricultural innovations and financial inclusion initiatives. The programme also promotes the WSIS values of digital inclusion, capacity building, and innovation-driven development by creating an ecosystem where innovation thrives and ICT is used as a tool for social and economic transformation.

Sustainability is embedded in the programme’s design through its multi-stakeholder partnerships with industry, academia, development organizations, and innovation hubs.

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• Zambia

• Youth
• The unemployed
• The poor
• Remote and rural communities

The ZICTA ICT Innovation Programme is highly replicable and adaptable, particularly in regions with emerging or developing ICT ecosystems. Its design, which integrates technical support, business mentorship, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and targeted financial investment, makes it suitable for replication in countries seeking to foster innovation-driven socio-economic development.

The programme can be replicated in other African countries or regions where ICT innovations are needed to address challenges in critical sectors such as agriculture, health, education, and financial services. For instance, its success in Zambia, where projects like AgriPredict have helped farmers manage risks through AI-based predictions, demonstrates that similar solutions can be implemented in other agricultural-dependent economies. Likewise, the success of E-Msika in connecting farmers with markets highlights the potential for replication in rural areas across Africa or Asia with fragmented agricultural supply chains.

The replicability of the programme is further supported by its modular design, allowing local stakeholders to tailor its components to the unique socio-economic needs of their communities. The programme’s core pillars—business development workshops, technical mentorship, financial grants, and networking platforms—can be adapted to local contexts with ease. Countries can collaborate with local universities, innovation hubs, and private sector partners to provide the technical and business development support needed for startups to thrive.

The programme’s sustainability model, based on shared funding from government, industry, and development organizations, also makes it attractive for replication in regions that prioritize multi-stakeholder collaboration. Development partners and donors can play a significant role by funding capacity-building activities and providing technical assistance, while industry players contribute by acting as offtakers, mentors, or financial supporters.

The ZICTA ICT Innovation Programme is designed with sustainability at its core, ensuring its long-term impact on the ICT ecosystem, startups, and communities. Its sustainability is driven by a multi-faceted approach that integrates financial self-reliance, stakeholder engagement, continuous capacity building, and scalable project outcomes.

One key pillar of sustainability lies in its multi-stakeholder funding model, which combines financial contributions from ZICTA, private sector partners, and development organizations. ZICTA has directly invested over ZMW 2.5 million into the programme, complemented by over ZMW 1 million in financial contributions from 15+ cooperating partners. This diversified funding approach reduces over-reliance on any single entity, creating a resilient and sustainable financial structure.

Strategic partnerships with academic institutions, innovation hubs, and industry stakeholders further contribute to sustainability by providing ongoing technical guidance and infrastructure support. Universities and innovation hubs, for example, continue to mentor and provide technical expertise to startups, even after they graduate from the programme. Industry stakeholders play a crucial role by acting as offtakers or investors, creating a self-perpetuating cycle where successful startups reinvest their growth back into the innovation ecosystem.

Additionally, the programme’s design encourages replication and scalability, allowing successful models to be adapted and implemented in different regions or sectors. This adaptability not only ensures long-term sustainability within Zambia but also extends the programme’s impact through regional and international replication. The scalability of solutions, like the AI-based agricultural tools and mobile savings platforms, further enhances the long-term relevance of the programme’s outcomes.

The ZICTA ICT Innovation Programme actively promotes and embodies the core values of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) by fostering digital inclusion, capacity building, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and the use of ICT as a tool for sustainable development. By addressing critical challenges in Zambia through ICT innovations, the programme directly aligns with WSIS’s mission to harness the potential of ICT for socio-economic growth and inclusion. One of the key ways the programme promotes WSIS values is through digital inclusion and accessibility. By supporting young innovators and entrepreneurs, particularly those from underrepresented groups, the programme ensures that access to digital tools, knowledge, and opportunities is distributed equitably across the community. Many of the supported startups, such as E-Msika (agri-tech platform) and Dawa Health (maternal health app), directly address issues faced by rural and underserved populations, bridging the digital divide and improving access to essential services such as healthcare, agriculture, and financial services. The programme also places significant emphasis on capacity building and skills development, a core value of WSIS. Through business development workshops, technical mentoring, and soft skills training, the programme equips innovators with the expertise needed to thrive in the digital economy. Multi-stakeholder partnerships, another key WSIS value, are central to the programme’s success. ZICTA collaborates with industry players, academic institutions, innovation hubs, and development organizations to provide a comprehensive support system for startups. The programme further promotes knowledge sharing and innovation diffusion, encouraging beneficiaries to share their experiences and best practices through networking events, business expos, and public platforms.