Minister Mutati Urges Responsible AI Deployment Across Zambian Enterprises

Zambia has taken a significant step toward accelerating enterprise-level artificial intelligence adoption following an executive AI briefing convened by the Ministry of Technology and Science in partnership with Pranary. The Executive Artificial Intelligence Briefing, held on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, brought together 30 senior decision-makers for a focused discussion on deploying AI at scale in 2025. The session aimed to equip C-suite leaders with practical roadmaps, governance frameworks, and leadership insights needed to align their organisations with Zambia’s digital transformation agenda.

Speaking at the briefing, Minister of Technology and Science, Honourable Felix Chipota Mutati, described artificial intelligence as a national imperative, likening it to essential utilities such as electricity. He emphasized that while AI does not require deep technical expertise to use, it demands strong leadership, robust infrastructure, and mindset shifts to deliver real impact. The Minister stressed that AI should complement human intelligence, with wisdom, judgment, and ethical responsibility remaining uniquely human roles. He outlined four critical enablers for AI adoption in Zambia: strengthened digital infrastructure, reliable energy supply, continuous skills development, and trust built through collaboration and governance.

The people dimension of AI transformation was further highlighted by Dr. Lelemba Phiri, Director at ATG, who noted that more than 70 percent of digital transformation initiatives fail due to organisational readiness and leadership challenges rather than technology limitations. She described AI as the most significant workplace shift since the rise of the internet and warned that misalignment between leadership behaviour and strategy often undermines adoption. Dr. Phiri added that skills now have a lifespan of just three to five years, making continuous learning essential, and outlined leadership mandates including visible executive adoption of AI, output-based performance measurement, psychological safety, institutionalised learning, and rewards for efficiency and innovation.

From an enterprise deployment perspective, Mr. Sandras Phiri, Chief Executive Officer of Pranary, urged leaders to move beyond outdated processes and view AI as a business transformation initiative rather than an IT project. He noted that Zambia has an opportunity to leapfrog traditional digitisation by adopting agentic and generative AI systems capable of delivering value in weeks. He also highlighted the untapped potential of proprietary data across sectors such as mining, finance, insurance, and public administration, stressing the importance of executive ownership and governance.

The briefing underscored the need for organisations to assess AI readiness before deployment, focusing on areas such as governance, executive accountability, strategic clarity, data advantage, and risks associated with unauthorised AI tools. The overarching message from the session was clear: AI is no longer optional. It is reshaping economies and redefining work, and for Zambia, responsible and people-centred adoption of AI could drive productivity, resilience, and inclusive growth. Leaders were urged to act now by investing in skills, strengthening governance, and embedding AI into core decision-making to shape the country’s next phase of digital and economic transformation.