Last year, President Hakainde Hichilema made a promise to the innovative youths of Zambia that his government and Hauwei Technologies would be setting up a fund that would help the country’s young innovators.
In November 2022, the Minister to Technology and Science Hon. Felix Mutati announced the creation of the Hakainde Hichilema Innovation Fund, an ICT innovation fund which is between Government and Huawei has been launched. The fund will see 50 youths receive scholarships worth 1 thousand United States dollars each from Huawei to innovate in the ICT sector.
According to the Hon. Mutati, under the partnership, Huawei would set up an innovation hub at the National Technology Business Centre (NTBC) to be housed at Government Complex in Lusaka.
Fast forward to this week in March 2023, the President joined by innovative youths drawn from across the country who had showcased their abilities in various areas under the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Science and Technology.
According to the President’s facebook post of 22nd March 2023, “We value the talent, innovativeness that these young people and others out there are showcasing in order to earn a living and it for this reason that we awarded them with some support through the Hakainde Hichilema Innovation Fund (HHIF) whose main objective is to see that many young talents out there are motivated to continue with their hardwork in areas of technology, education among others”.
The President further stated that “while in office, we are advancing technology for self-employment, and we are alive to the fact that Zambia has the potential to grow this. The government is also working tirelessly to ensure that technology lessons are made readily available for learners across the country”.
