Cyber resilience is the foundation for Africa’s next phase of digital growth, Mastercard whitepaper finds>

Africa's digital economy is growing at remarkable speed, opening new opportunities for people, businesses and governments across the continent. Building strong cyber resilience will be key to sustaining that momentum, according to the new Mastercard-commissioned whitepaper, Africa’s Digital Defense Race. The whitepaper highlights that between 2016 and 2025, mobile money users grew 5.9 times, digital banking users 4.7 times and the e-commerce market 5.3 times. The findings come as Africa’s digital payments economy is on track to reach USD 1.5 trillion by 2030. However, cyber threat activity grew at a similar pace over the same period, highlighting both the growing risk facing Africa’s digital economy and the opportunity to strengthen the governance, skills, infrastructure and collaboration needed to secure its continued growth. Shabir Ahmed, Senior Vice President, Customer Solutions Center Lead, Africa, said: “Africa’s digital growth is creating real opportunity for people and businesses across the continent, and protecting it has become a leadership priority. As threats become more sophisticated and coordinated, our response has...Africa's digital economy is growing at remarkable speed, opening new opportunities for people, businesses and governments across the continent. Building strong cyber resilience will be key to sustaining that momentum, according to the new Mastercard-commissioned whitepaper, Africa’s Digital Defense Race. The whitepaper highlights that between 2016 and 2025, mobile money users grew 5.9 times, digital banking users 4.7 times and the e-commerce market 5.3 times. The findings come as Africa’s digital payments economy is on track to reach USD 1.5 trillion by 2030. However, cyber threat activity grew at a similar pace over the same period, highlighting both the growing risk facing Africa’s digital economy and the opportunity to strengthen the governance, skills, infrastructure and collaboration needed to secure its continued growth. Shabir Ahmed, Senior Vice President, Customer Solutions Center Lead, Africa, said: “Africa’s digital growth is creating real opportunity for people and businesses across the continent, and protecting it has become a leadership priority. As threats become more sophisticated and coordinated, our response has...{}