A three-year programme aimed at strengthening digital defences and safeguarding essential public services across Africa has been launched by Google.org in partnership with the Cybersafe Foundation.
The initiative, which targets Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, is designed to support community organisations that provide critical services while holding sensitive data on millions of vulnerable citizens. These institutions have increasingly become prime targets for cybercriminals amid rapid digitalisation.
Dubbed Resilio Africa, the programme seeks to improve the cyber readiness of 200 Critical Community Institutions (CCIs), safeguard more than 15 million public records, and protect over two million people who rely on facilities such as clinics, schools, local government agencies and social service organisations.
Under the project, CCIs will receive free technical tools, cybersecurity risk assessments, customised response playbooks, threat intelligence and incident response frameworks.
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The programme will also provide more than 10,000 hours of pro bono cybersecurity consulting to strengthen the capacity of IT teams, executives and frontline staff. Over 4,500 employees and decision-makers across the four countries are expected to receive targeted training to enhance institutional preparedness.
Speaking in an interview with The Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday, the Executive Director and Founder of the Cybersafe Foundation, Ms Constance Staveley, said many community institutions collect and store vast volumes of sensitive personal data but operate on outdated systems and with limited cybersecurity budgets.
She explained that increasing digitalisation across Africa had widened vulnerability gaps, leaving institutions exposed to cyber threats that could result in financial losses, service disruptions and serious harm to individuals whose data is compromised.
Citing INTERPOL data, she noted that Africa recorded a 23 per cent rise in ransomware attacks in 2023, with public and non-profit institutions among the most affected. In Kenya alone, 114 cyberattacks targeting CCIs were documented in the first eight months of 2024, followed by a 201 per cent surge in early 2025.
According to Ms Staveley, the Resilio Africa initiative would help build safer digital ecosystems across the continent at a time when cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated and frequent.
She further observed that while African governments were making progress in developing national cybersecurity strategies, more than 60 per cent of countries on the continent still fall within the "low commitment" category of the International Telecommunication Union's Global Cybersecurity Index.
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Ms Staveley warned that without immediate and scalable interventions, cyber incidents could erode public trust, disrupt essential services and further expose vulnerable populations to digital and even physical harm.
On the part of Google.org, a Senior Programme Manager, Ms Haviva Kohl, said the organisation believed securing digital systems was critical to inclusive and sustainable growth.
"Our support for the Cybersafe Foundation reflects our shared goal of empowering communities and protecting the institutions that serve them," she said.
