Mastercard Launches Africa Cybersecurity Center

Mastercard has launched the Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, a new initiative aimed at improving cyber resilience across the continent through greater collaboration between governments, financial institutions and businesses.

The announcement was made during a visit to South Africa and Nigeria by Mastercard Chief Executive Officer Michael Miebach. The initiative follows discussions with the Nigerian government in Abuja and the South African government during the 2025 G20 meetings in Johannesburg on strengthening cybersecurity across Africa.

The Center of Excellence will initially roll out in South Africa and Nigeria in 2026 before expanding to other markets. It is intended to provide participating organisations with access to threat intelligence, cyber risk assessments and collaborative platforms to improve preparedness against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

Speaking on the initiative, 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.”

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of Nigeria, added”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.”

The launch comes as Africa’s digital economy continues to expand. Mastercard estimates the continent’s digital economy could reach US$1.5 trillion by 2030, while cybercrime continues to present significant challenges for businesses and governments.

According to the company, cyber incidents remain significantly underreported across Africa due to gaps in cyber maturity, limited detection capabilities and concerns about reputational damage. Mastercard also noted that South Africa accounts for about 29% of ransomware attacks and 40% of phishing incidents reported across the continent, while Nigeria remains among the countries most affected by ransomware and dark web-related threats.

Miebach said building trust is essential for Africa’s digital growth.”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.”

The Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence will operate as a pan-African hub supported by connected digital platforms. During its first year, Mastercard plans to conduct ecosystem cyber risk assessments covering up to 50 organisations and provide participants with an Africa-focused threat intelligence feed developed by Recorded Future.

The initiative is built around three key areas: providing Africa-focused threat intelligence and strategic insights, encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing among chief information security officers (CISOs), business leaders and security teams, and improving organisational readiness through continuous risk monitoring, resilience assessments and scenario-based exercises.

Mastercard said the Center is designed to evolve over time as cybersecurity needs across African markets change, with the broader objective of strengthening collaboration between the public and private sectors to support a more secure digital economy.

The company added that it has invested more than US$12.6 billion in cybersecurity innovation since 2018 and has supported the launch of more than 20 cybersecurity-focused startups as part of its broader cybersecurity strategy.