Mastercard has taken a significant step toward strengthening Africa’s digital economy with the launch of its Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, a pan-African initiative designed to enhance cyber resilience, improve collaboration, and help organizations better defend against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. The Center will begin a phased rollout in 2026, starting with South Africa and Nigeria, two of Africa’s largest digital markets and among the continent’s most targeted by cybercriminals. As digital transformation accelerates across Africa, the initiative reflects the growing recognition that trust, security, and resilience are fundamental pillars for sustainable economic growth and digital innovation.
The new Center of Excellence is designed to bring together financial institutions, governments, businesses, and cybersecurity professionals to strengthen collective defense against evolving cyber risks. Operating as a collaborative platform, it will enable participating organizations to share intelligence, improve preparedness, identify emerging threats earlier, and coordinate responses more effectively. By promoting greater collaboration across the public and private sectors, Mastercard aims to create a stronger cybersecurity ecosystem capable of protecting critical digital infrastructure while supporting the continued growth of Africa’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
The initiative also delivers practical cybersecurity capabilities that will directly support organizations across the continent. During its first year, the Center will conduct ecosystem cyber risk assessments covering up to 50 organizations while providing access to an Africa-focused threat intelligence feed developed by Recorded Future, a Mastercard company. In addition, participating organizations will benefit from ongoing risk monitoring, resilience assessments, scenario-based exercises, secure information-sharing platforms, and strategic collaboration among Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), business leaders, and cybersecurity practitioners. These capabilities are expected to improve visibility into emerging threats while helping organizations strengthen their overall cyber readiness and response capabilities.
The launch comes at a critical time as cyber threats continue to increase across Africa. South Africa currently accounts for approximately 29% of ransomware attacks and 40% of phishing incidents reported across the continent, while Nigeria remains one of the regions most affected by ransomware and dark web-related threats. Despite the growing scale of cybercrime, only an estimated 35% of cybersecurity incidents across Africa are officially reported, creating significant visibility gaps that weaken coordinated responses. Mastercard’s investment in collaborative intelligence, shared risk analysis, and cybersecurity best practices seeks to address these challenges by improving threat detection, encouraging information sharing, and strengthening resilience across industries.
The Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence also builds on Mastercard’s long-term commitment to digital trust and innovation. Since 2018, the company has invested more than $12.6 billion in cybersecurity innovation and supported the growth of more than 20 cybersecurity-focused startups, reinforcing its evolution beyond payments into a global technology and cyber intelligence partner. By investing in advanced cybersecurity capabilities and fostering stronger collaboration between governments, financial institutions, and businesses, Mastercard is helping lay the foundation for a safer, more resilient, and more inclusive digital future. The initiative underscores the importance of cybersecurity as a strategic enabler of Africa’s digital transformation, ensuring that innovation, financial inclusion, and economic growth are supported by secure and trusted digital ecosystems.
