A new African cybersecurity information sharing initiative, launched on 3 September during the Leaders’ Roundtable meeting of AFI’s African Financial Inclusion Policy Initiative (AfPI), is set to build resilience across the continent’s digital financial services ecosystem. 

The initiative, which is initially being supported on a pilot basis by the German Development Ministry, BMZ, will allow AFI’s African members to collaborate and share intelligence on emerging digital threats, to develop effective cybersecurity responses. 

“Digital financial services have been a potent force for financial inclusion but carry significant cybersecurity risk,” said AfPI Chair, Matilda Asante-Asiedu, Second Deputy Governor of Bank of Ghana. “This new information sharing mechanism will help AFI’s African members to protect customers of DFS from cyber attacks, and to ensure that their financial transactions are safe.” 

The information sharing-initiative builds on a recent AFI event in Accra, co-hosted with Bank of Ghana, which assessed how African countries could build robust cybersecurity frameworks, enhance consumer protection for digital payments, and promote digital financial literacy.