Mastercard launches its Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence

Mastercard has announced the launch of its Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, a pan-African initiative designed to strengthen cyber resilience, enhance collaboration, and safeguard trust in Africa's expanding digital economy.

The announcement was made during a visit by Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach to South Africa and Nigeria, reflecting the company's long-term commitment to supporting digital transformation across the continent.

The initiative follows commitments made in discussions with the Nigerian government in Abuja and the South African government during last year's G20 meetings in Johannesburg.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa stated, "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."

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu 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."

Michael Miebach commented, "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."

The multi-year initiative, led by Mastercard, will begin a phased rollout in 2026 starting with South Africa and Nigeria, operating as a pan-African hub via connected digital platforms, offering ecosystem cyber risk analysis for up to 50 organizations in its first year and access to an Africa-focused threat intelligence feed from Recorded Future, a Mastercard company.

The center focuses on three core pillars: threat intelligence and strategic insights, collaboration and knowledge sharing among CISOs and security teams, and readiness and resilience through risk monitoring and scenario-based exercises.