Africa is making strides in digital transformation and cyber security, but greater investment is needed to secure its digital infrastructure and strengthen its human resources.
This is the view of Dr Martin Koyabe, senior manager and technical lead at the Global Forum of Cyber Expertise (GFCE) Africa, who will be speaking at the ITWeb Security Summit 2025, on 28 May, at the CTICC in Cape Town, South Africa.
The GFCE is a multi-sector community with over 200 members and partners comprising governments, inter-governmental and regional organisations, international development organisations, private sector actors, academic institutions, tech sector and civil society professionals from around the world.
The GFCE is an action-orientated and flexible platform for international collaboration aimed at enhancing efforts in global cyber capacity building to ensure an open, free, peaceful and secure digital world.
Dr Koyabe acknowledges Africa’s progress in digital transformation and its growing awareness of the need for robust and resilient digital infrastructure and services.
“We are seeing more countries take a proactive approach to cyber capacity building. There is increasing recognition in most African countries that successful digital transformation requires secure, resilient and accessible digital infrastructure. However, there is also a pressing need to address the significant shortage of technology professionals, particularly in cyber security and related areas,” he explains.
At the Security Summit, Dr Koyabe will emphasise the urgent need for greater investment in securing Africa’s digital infrastructure and human capital to secure Africa’s position in the global digital economy. These same sentiments will be the main theme during the upcoming Global Conference on Cyber Capacity Building (GC3B) in Geneva, on 13-14 May, which will be co-hosted by GFCE and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.
“African nations must collaborate and share skills, knowledge and expertise, especially in cyber security,” stressed Dr Koyabe. “This is essential for strengthening the continent as a secure, resilient and sustainable digital society. The key takeaway for the industry is to prioritise additional layers of protection to enhance both operational efficiency and security.”
Unlocking Africa’s potential
According to Dr Koyabe, Africa has a unique opportunity to build its human resource capacity by investing in and empowering its vibrant, innovative youth.
The goal should not only be to train jobseekers but also to retain skilled and talented human capital, preventing the continued brain drain. Developing a strong workforce is crucial for advancing Africa’s digital capabilities and cyber security resilience with emerging technologies such as AI and quantum computing.
Dr Koyabe references the International Telecommunication Union Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2024, which highlights global improvements in cyber security efforts, and warns that stronger measures are needed to counter evolving cyber threats.
“Some of the most concerning risks identified in the report include ransomware attacks on government services, cyber breaches impacting critical industries, costly system failures and privacy violations affecting individuals and organisations,” he notes.
Encouragingly, Africa is well represented in the GCI Index, with several African countries ranked in the top tiers of the assessment. However, Dr Koyabe points out that according to the World Economic Forum, there is a global skills shortage of nearly 4 million cyber security experts, with this deficit set to grow amid an increase in demand for cyber professionals.
“Africa must stay ahead of these challenges. Countries need to adapt to increasingly sophisticated cyber threats while fostering flexibility, gender inclusivity and diversity within the cyber security and cyber capacity building ecosystem,” he concludes.
Click here for more information about the summit and to register.
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