According to government announcements, MTN Zambia will formally introduce the fifth generation, 5G, mobile network in Zambia on November 24, 2022.
The Innovation Africa Summit is currently taking place in Lusaka, and today the minister of science and technology, Felix Mutati, made this announcement there.
According to Mutati, the action is a component of the government’s agenda for digital transformation.
“Because of the positive things that we are doing, next week, working with MTN, we are going to launch 5G on the 24th of November. Creating a positive experience for customers, creating the necessary speed and making Zambia truly in the champions league,” he said.
According to the minister, the government is aiming to lower the cost of ICT infrastructure in order to make mobile network services available to everyone in Zambia at a reasonable price.
The Minister added that Zambia has a great deal of potential to compete with other nations in the field of technology.
He continued by saying that the hosting of major summits like the Innovation Africa gathering is proof that the nation is gaining prominence on a global scale. The government, according to Mutati, is aware of the difficulties faced by young inventors.
The minister continued by saying that, with assistance from the private sector and other stakeholders, the government has developed initiatives meant to address these problems.
“We are now working on a start-up bill, which we will present to parliament to be able to introduce a venture capital fund to deal with issues around funding,” he said.
Zambia is hosting the 10th edition of the Innovation Africa Summit which has attracted over 300 delegates from Africa and beyond.