Multinational - ICT Cybersecurity (R&D, FINTECH and DFS)

The proposed project is a $2 million grant to establish the African Cybersecurity Resource Center (ACRC). The grant will be disbursed through the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI). ADFI is a pan-African instrument designed to accelerate digital financial inclusion throughout Africa, with the goal of ensuring that an additional 332 million Africans (60% of them women) have access to the formal financial system. A first of its kind in Africa, the project is inspired by information sharing organisations such as found in the United States (Financial Services-ISAC), Europe (European Central Bank Resilience Board) and the GSMA Fraud and Security Group. Stakeholder engagement is critical for this project. A focus on the go-to-market will be done and a strategy be developed based on successful approaches developed in Senegal. The project will take a three-pronged approach: (i) creation of an affordable shared platform to monitor cyber-attacks against financial service providers and individual customers; (ii) rollout of individualized advisory services to enable organisations to bolster their cybersecurity; and (iii) enhancement of cybersecurity talent development to ensure that African demand for expertise can be met. ACRC will be headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, and sub-regional resource centers will be set up in West and East Africa. The project will be implemented by ACRC over a period of 3 years with the members and operational partners of the consortium leading on different components.