The fast-growing digital economy in Africa is facing a mounting cyber threat, with attacks surging 421% over the past decade as mobile money, digital banking and e-commerce expand across the continent.
This is according to the latest Mastercard-commissioned report, Africa’s Digital Defense Race, which indicates that 69,236 cyber events targeted African organisations in 2025, equivalent to roughly one every eight minutes, while the continent faces a shortfall of about 200,000 cybersecurity professionals, or 23% of its current workforce.
Mobile money users grew 5.9-fold between 2016 and 2025, while digital banking users increased 4.7-fold and the e-commerce market expanded 5.3-fold. Africa’s digital payments economy is projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030, the report said.
Technology, the public sector and financial services accounted for 44% of observed cyber activity, while personal and financial information and customer-facing services represented 27% of targeted assets.
Mastercard’s senior vice president and Africa customer solutions centre lead, Shabir Ahmed says governments and businesses needed to coordinate their response as cyber threats became more sophisticated, citing the company’s Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence as a platform for sharing intelligence and strengthening defences.
The report highlights the need to strengthen cybersecurity around systems supporting financial inclusion in Kenya, while noting that South Africa’s financial sector accounted for 12.6% of observed attacks across the continent.
It also cited Interpol’s Operation Serengeti 2.0, which resulted in 1,209 arrests across 18 African countries and the recovery of $97.4 million between June and August 2025, as evidence of the value of cross-border cooperation.
The full whitepaper, Africa’s Digital Defense Race, is among the Center’s first offerings and can be downloaded at (LINK).