Why Technology Adoption In Zambia Is Still Low - And What Must Change

BY SHEPPA KALUNGA

Zambia has made notable strides in expanding internet access and mobile connectivity over the past decade, yet technology adoption across the country remains stubbornly low.

Despite a young and growing population, many Zambians still interact with digital tools in only the most basic ways, if at all. Understanding why this gap persists is essential if the country hopes to unlock the economic and social potential that technology offers.

The most immediate barrier is cost. Smartphones, laptops, and reliable internet subscriptions remain expensive relative to average household incomes. For a family in a peri-urban or rural area, spending money on a data bundle often feels like a luxury when more pressing needs like food, school fees, and healthcare take priority. Even where mobile network coverage exists, the cost of staying connected pushes many people offline. Until devices and data become genuinely affordable, large portions of the population will remain on the sidelines of the digital economy.

Infrastructure is another major challenge. Outside Lusaka and a handful of provincial towns, connectivity is patchy at best. Rural communities, which make up a significant share of the population, frequently lack the towers, fibre lines, and electricity supply needed to support consistent internet access. Without power, even owning a phone becomes an exercise in frustration. Expanding infrastructure into underserved areas requires coordinated investment from both government and the private sector, and progress has been slower than it needs to be.

Digital literacy also plays a critical role. Access alone is not enough if people do not know how to use technology in meaningful ways.

Many Zambians, particularly older adults and those with limited formal education, find digital platforms confusing or intimidating. Schools, for their part, often lack the equipment and trained teachers to integrate technology into learning. The result is a cycle where people avoid what they do not understand, and the skills gap widens with each passing year.

There is also a trust problem. Stories of online fraud, mobile money scams, and data misuse have made many Zambians cautious about engaging with digital services. Without strong consumer protections and visible enforcement, it is difficult to convince people that the online space is safe. Building trust will require better regulation, transparent data practices, and consistent public education about how to stay safe online.

But perhaps the most overlooked barrier to real technological progress in Zambia is the failure to adopt and own digital systems. Across both the public and private sectors, there is a deep reluctance to invest in building or purchasing systems that organisations can call their own. Instead, the default choice is to rent. Businesses subscribe to foreign platforms on a monthly basis. Government departments rely on donor-funded solutions that come with expiry dates. Schools use free tiers of software that could be withdrawn at any time. The pattern is the same everywhere: Zambia is a nation of digital tenants in a world that rewards digital landlords.

This rental mindset is driven largely by fear of the unknown. Owning a digital system means taking responsibility for it. It means hiring developers to maintain it, training staff to use it, and making long-term financial commitments that many decision-makers find uncomfortable. Renting, by contrast, feels safe. Someone else handles the updates, the security patches, and the troubleshooting. But that comfort comes at a steep price. When you rent a system, you do not control your own data. You cannot customise the platform to fit local needs. And if the provider changes its terms, raises its prices, or shuts down entirely, you are left starting from scratch. Zambia has experienced this more than once, yet the lesson never seems to stick.

Consider how many Zambian businesses still run their operations on spreadsheets and WhatsApp groups instead of investing in proper enterprise systems. Consider how many government services still depend on manual paperwork because the idea of commissioning a tailored digital solution feels too risky or too expensive. The irony is that the cost of not owning systems is often far greater than the cost of building them. Lost data, duplicated effort, slow service delivery, and missed opportunities all add up quietly in the background, year after year.

There is also a cultural dimension to this problem. In Zambia, technology is still widely seen as something that comes from elsewhere, something built by other people for other markets. This perception breeds passivity. Rather than asking how we can build systems that solve our own problems, the instinct is to ask which foreign product we can subscribe to.

Local developers and tech entrepreneurs exist in growing numbers, but they are often overlooked in favour of international brands, even when a homegrown solution would serve the purpose better and keep the money circulating within the economy.

The path forward requires a fundamental shift in mindset. Zambian organisations, both public and private, need to start seeing digital systems not as expenses to be minimised but as assets to be owned. Government should lead by example, commissioning locally built platforms for public services and creating procurement policies that give Zambian tech firms a genuine seat at the table. The private sector must move past the false comfort of renting and begin investing in systems that give them control over their operations and their data. Educational institutions should teach students not just how to use technology but how to build, manage, and think critically about the systems that shape modern life.

Affordability, infrastructure, digital literacy, and trust all matter. But until Zambia confronts its deeper reluctance to own its digital future, progress will remain shallow. The country has the talent, the ambition, and the entrepreneurial energy to build systems that work for its own people. What it needs now is the courage to stop renting someone else’s vision and start investing in its own.