Mastercard announced the launch of its Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, a pan-African initiative to support cyber resilience, improve collaboration and help protect Africa's digital economy
The announcement was made during a visit to South Africa and Nigeria by Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach, reflecting Mastercard's commitment to supporting Africa's digital transformation by helping organizations anticipate, respond to and recover from cyber threats. The Cybersecurity Center of Excellence extends Mastercard’s cybersecurity expertise and threat intelligence to organizations across Africa.
This initiative follows commitments made in recent discussions with the Nigerian Government in Abuja and the South African Government during last year’s G20 meetings in Johannesburg to support cybersecurity efforts across Africa.
His Excellency, Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, said:
“We recognize that for digitization to be inclusive, it must be trusted and secure. Mastercard has long been a trusted partner to South Africa, and its Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence is a welcome step to build on that foundation, drawing on the country’s best and brightest to meet a challenge no government or company can solve alone."
His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, President of Nigeria, said:
“As Nigeria deepens its digital transformation, secure and trusted systems will be critical to inclusion and growth. We welcome collaborations that strengthen our digital economy and build resilience for the future.”
As digital adoption grows across Africa, cybersecurity plays an increasing role in supporting economic activity. The Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence has been established to support collective cyber defense across the continent by bringing together financial institutions, public sector organizations and businesses to share intelligence, improve preparedness, identify threats earlier and strengthen resilience over time.
Michael Miebach, CEO, Mastercard, said:
"Africa is dynamic, fast-growing, and ready to scale its digital future. That won't happen without trust. People don't use what they don't trust. That makes cybersecurity foundational to driving economic resilience and growth across the continent. By doing more to connect public and private sector efforts and share best practices, we can strengthen collective defense and secure a more confident and inclusive digital economy."
Africa’s digital economy is projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030, while cybercrime across the continent continues to generate significant economic losses each year. Only an estimated 35% of incidents are officially reported, largely because of cyber maturity gaps, limited detection capabilities and reputational concerns. The result is a fragmented view of the threat landscape that makes coordinated response efforts more difficult. South Africa accounts for around 29% of ransomware attacks and 40% of phishing incidents reported across Africa, while Nigeria ranks among the markets most affected by ransomware and dark web threat activity.
The multi-year initiative will be led by Mastercard. It will begin a phased rollout in 2026, starting with South Africa and Nigeria. Through this model, the company intends to support cyber resilience and preparedness while enabling digital growth across Africa.
Operating as a pan-African hub delivered through connected digital platforms and capabilities, the Center will provide participating organizations with visibility into emerging threats. During its first year, it will include an ecosystem cyber risk analysis covering up to 50 organizations, together with access to an Africa-focused threat intelligence feed developed by Recorded Future, a Mastercard company. Through information sharing, joint exercises and coordinated response among CISOs, business leaders and security practitioners, the Center will support cybersecurity coordination across Africa.
The Center of Excellence is intended to expand its capabilities as market needs evolve. The initiative is built around three pillars:
Threat intelligence and strategic insights: Providing participating organizations with Africa-focused threat intelligence, including cybersecurity assessments and a shared view of risks.
Collaboration and knowledge sharing: Bringing together CISOs, business leaders and security teams to support coordinated response capabilities and cybersecurity practices across industries.
Readiness and resilience: Helping organizations anticipate emerging threats through ongoing risk monitoring, resilience assessments and scenario-based exercises that strengthen response and recovery capabilities.
The launch of the Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence expands Mastercard's cybersecurity activities across the continent. Since 2018, the company has invested more than $12.6 billion in cybersecurity innovation and has supported the launch of more than 20 cybersecurity-focused startups.
By working alongside governments, financial institutions and businesses of all sizes, including SMEs, Mastercard intends to support cybersecurity capabilities that underpin digital growth. Through investments in cybersecurity technologies and collaboration, the company seeks to strengthen cybersecurity across the markets where it operates.
