In a move to enhance digital security on the African continent, Kaspersky has signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Smart Africa. This landmark agreement is set to drive collaborative efforts aimed at expanding cybersecurity capabilities throughout Africa.
The partnership
focuses on building essential cybersecurity skills via training programs,
including those offered by the Kaspersky Academy — an international
educational venture established in 2010 with a mission to drive the best
cybersecurity education to build a safer world. Another major focus of the
partnership will be addressing gender disparities by supporting initiatives
that empower girls and women in the fields of cybersecurity, STEM, and ICT,
which is a continuation of Kaspersky’s efforts aimed at empowering female
professionals in IT and attracting more women in the field.
In addition to human
capacity development, the collaboration aims to standardize cybersecurity
policies by pooling both organizations to create harmonized regional and
national frameworks. This effort involves working closely with cybersecurity
authorities, law enforcement agencies, computer emergency response teams,
industry leaders, and other key stakeholders to ensure a unified approach to
digital security.
Moreover, the
initiative is geared towards strengthening technological defenses. This
includes establishing critical cyber infrastructures such as security operation
centers and computer emergency response teams, as well as offering expert technical
consulting to prevent and mitigate the effects of cybercrime.
Lacina Koné, CEO of
Smart Africa, commented:
“This MoU marks a significant milestone in our quest to secure Africa’s digital future. By joining forces with Kaspersky, we are not only building essential cybersecurity skills and bridging the gender gap but also setting the stage for robust regional cooperation and state-of-the-art cyber infrastructure.”
Eugene Kaspersky, founder and CEO of Kaspersky, noted:
“Our strategic partnership with Smart Africa is designed to help create a more
secure cyberspace across the continent and beyond. We see this initiative as a
commitment to empowering both individual users and organizations to ensure that
everyone can navigate the digital world safely and with confidence."
This partnership
reflects Kaspersky’s commitment to a collaborative approach in creating a more
safe and secure digital space by building strategic partnerships helping to
enhance efforts aimed at boosting the global cyber resilience. It also builds
on the momentum of the recently established African Network of Cybersecurity
Authorities (ANCA), a collaborative initiative designed by Smart Africa to
bring together cybersecurity authorities from African countries to address the
growing challenges posed by cyber threats and crimes.
Together with Smart
Africa’s unwavering commitment to building a secure, inclusive, and digitally
empowered continent, the joint cooperation is poised to address the evolving
challenges of the cyber world and position Africa as a model of digital
security innovation.
