Smart Africa’s 5-Year Cybersecurity Plan: A Continental Framework for Digital Resilience

Smart Africa has launched a five-year cybersecurity strategy under the African Network of Cybersecurity Authorities (ANCA), marking a significant step toward addressing the continent’s growing cyber threats. The initiative aims to harmonize policies, strengthen infrastructure, and foster collaboration across 35 member states¹. This comes as Africa’s digital transformation accelerates, with over 160 million new broadband users added between 2019 and 2022³.

Strategic Objectives and Roadmap

The ANCA framework prioritizes four key areas: policy harmonization, critical infrastructure protection, capacity building, and public-private partnerships. A notable focus is the establishment of regional Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) to handle cross-border incidents². Smart Africa CEO Lacina Koné emphasized the need for a unified approach, stating,

“Cybersecurity is no longer a national issue; it’s a continental concern.”

Partnerships and Implementation

In March 2025, Smart Africa signed a memorandum with Kaspersky to advance skills development through the Kaspersky Academy and promote gender inclusivity in STEM fields⁴. The collaboration also targets standardized policies for critical sectors like finance and healthcare. Eugene Kaspersky noted the partnership’s role in ensuring “secure and inclusive digital growth.”

Technical Relevance for Security Professionals

The ANCA roadmap includes actionable measures such as threat intelligence sharing platforms and AI-driven detection systems, which align with global models like the EU’s NIS2 directive⁵. For security teams, this translates to:

Standardized incident reporting protocols
Regional CERT coordination drills
Shared indicators of compromise (IoCs) databases

Challenges and Future Outlook

Despite progress, hurdles like funding gaps and uneven technical capacity persist. However, the plan’s alignment with Smart Africa’s “Single Digital Market by 2030” vision could mitigate cybercrime costs, currently estimated at 10% of GDP in some African nations³.