Zambia Drafts Innovators and Inventors Bill for AI Sector

LUSAKA — The Ministry of Technology and Science is drafting an Innovators and Inventors Bill that is meant to protect inventions and reward the new ideas driving Zambia's technology sector.

For a country where mobile money, software start-ups and artificial intelligence projects are spreading faster than the rules that govern them, the planned law matters because it would give inventors a formal way to register and defend what they create. The Ministry of Technology and Science says the Bill is intended to build an environment that encourages new ideas, inventions and intellectual-property protection across Zambia.

The Ministry of Technology and Science drafts the Bill and announced the plan during a networking engagement for the sixth cohort of Women in Tech, a government-backed programme that supports women founders and technologists. According to the Ministry of Technology and Science, the proposed Innovators and Inventors Bill would support the growth of the innovation sector and help turn research and prototypes into protected, commercial products.

The drafting of the Bill sits alongside other state moves to widen the digital economy, including Zambia's connectivity drive to extend mobile and internet coverage. Better coverage gives more Zambians the tools to build and use the kind of artificial intelligence and software products the Ministry of Technology and Science wants the new law to protect.

Investment patterns add weight to the timing. Founders across the continent have reported the rebound in African startup funding in the first half of 2026, and clearer intellectual-property rules are one of the things investors weigh when deciding where to place capital. The Ministry of Technology and Science says the Innovators and Inventors Bill is part of building that confidence in Zambia.

The Women in Tech engagement put women founders at the centre of the announcement. The Ministry of Technology and Science says the sixth cohort of the programme reflects a deliberate push to bring more women into research, software development and invention, fields where they remain under-represented. The Ministry of Technology and Science frames the Innovators and Inventors Bill as a benefit for those founders, who often lack the legal means to defend an idea once it leaves the laboratory or the laptop.

The plan also speaks to a larger debate about ownership in the digital age, including the question of who controls Africa's AI infrastructure. Strong domestic protection for inventions is one way a country keeps the value of domestic ideas at home rather than seeing such ideas captured elsewhere. The Ministry of Technology and Science says the Innovators and Inventors Bill is being designed with that local ownership in mind.

Background

The Ministry of Technology and Science leads Zambia's digital and innovation policy, working alongside the Smart Zambia Institute, the unit that runs the government's e-government and digital-transformation work. The joint agenda of the Ministry of Technology and Science and the Smart Zambia Institute covers connectivity, online public services and support for a technology sector that has grown on the back of rising mobile-money use and a young population entering the digital economy.

Zambia does have existing intellectual-property structures, but founders have long argued that protections written for an older economy do not fit modern software, data and artificial intelligence. The Innovators and Inventors Bill, as described by the Ministry of Technology and Science, is meant to close the gap and give modern inventors a clearer route to register and defend such work.

What to watch

The next decision point is the publication of an actual draft of the Innovators and Inventors Bill and the stakeholder consultations that would follow before it reaches Parliament. The detail that founders and investors will study is what the Bill counts as a protectable invention, how registration would work in practice, and how disputes would be settled. For continuing reporting on the policy, the laws and the founders shaping the sector, follow Kwacha News technology coverage.

The proposed Innovators and Inventors Bill is intended to support the growth of the innovation sector and create an environment that encourages new ideas, inventions and the protection of intellectual property in Zambia.

— Ministry of Technology and Science, <a href="https://www.mots.gov.zm/">Women in Tech Cohort 6 engagement, 2026</a>

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about the Innovators and Inventors Bill and what it could mean for Zambia's technology and artificial intelligence sector are answered below, based on what the Ministry of Technology and Science said at the Women in Tech engagement.

What is the Innovators and Inventors Bill?

In short, it is a proposed Zambian law being drafted by the Ministry of Technology and Science to protect inventions and intellectual property and to support the growth of the innovation sector. According to the Ministry of Technology and Science, the Bill is meant to create an environment that encourages new ideas and inventions, including those built around software and artificial intelligence.

How does the Bill relate to artificial intelligence?

Simply put, artificial intelligence products are inventions that need clear ownership rules to thrive, and the evidence from founders shows that weak intellectual-property protection slows investment. By giving inventors a formal way to register and defend their work, the Bill described by the Ministry of Technology and Science is designed to give artificial intelligence and software builders firmer ground to commercialise what they create.

Why is the Women in Tech programme involved?

The answer is that the announcement was made at a networking engagement for the sixth cohort of Women in Tech, a government-backed programme that supports women founders and technologists. Data on the sector reveals that women remain under-represented in invention and research, and the Ministry of Technology and Science presented the Bill as a benefit for those founders, according to its remarks at the engagement.

Who is leading the work on the Bill?

The key is that the Ministry of Technology and Science leads Zambia's digital and innovation policy and is the body drafting the Innovators and Inventors Bill. Analysis of the government's agenda shows the Ministry of Technology and Science works alongside the Smart Zambia Institute on connectivity and e-government, the wider programme into which the Bill fits.

What happens next with the Bill?

In other words, the Bill is still at the drafting stage. According to the Ministry of Technology and Science, the work is under way, and the next steps founders should watch for are a published draft, public consultation and, eventually, debate in Parliament. No date has been set, and Kwacha News will report the detail as it is released.

Sources

Reporting draws on statements by the Ministry of Technology and Science made during the Women in Tech Cohort 6 networking engagement, and on the digital-transformation agenda of the Smart Zambia Institute.