Africa has 200,000 cyber jobs up for grabs

Africa is facing a shortage of around 200,000 cybersecurity specialists, creating one of the continent’s biggest technology employment opportunities.

A new Mastercard-commissioned whitepaper, Africa’s Digital Defense Race, estimates that the unfilled positions represent a skills gap equal to 23% of the continent’s existing cybersecurity workforce.

The shortage comes after a decade of extraordinary growth in digital services as digital banking, mobile money and e-commerce continue their rapid expansion. From 2016 to 2025, the number of mobile money users across Africa increased almost six-fold, digital banking users grew 4.7-fold, and the e-commerce market expanded by more than five times. However, this growth comes with a massive threat. According to the whitepaper, cyberattacks across the continent increased by more than 421%, compared with 307% globally, during this time.

As a result, every new digital service creates a need for greater protection, from safeguarding financial transactions to securing the personal information of millions of customers.

Africa’s digital payments economy alone is projected to reach $1.5-trillion by 2030, according to previous Mastercard research. That expansion makes cybersecurity a potentially lucrative career field, with demand extending beyond highly specialised technical positions to include risk assessment and incident investigation.

The challenge for Africa is to develop the skills quickly enough to meet demand, while creating opportunities for local technology businesses to provide services that have traditionally been dominated by international cybersecurity companies.

Mastercard Cyber Insights recorded 69,236 cyber events targeting African organisations in 2025, equivalent to roughly one every eight minutes.

The figures reflect activity observed through Mastercard’s cyber intelligence systems, are an indication of the extent of the problem, rather than a complete census of cybercrime across Africa.

South Africa accounted for 12.6% of observed attacks on the continent, reflecting its concentration of financial institutions and other high-value targets

The report found that technology companies, government institutions and financial services organisations made up 44% of observed cyber threat activity, and personal information, financial information and customer-facing services collectively represented 27% of targeted assets.

These targets reflect the economic value of the data now moving through Africa’s digital economy. For financial institutions, a successful attack causes direct financial losses and expensive operational disruption. For customers, compromised accounts and personal information have consequences long after the initial incident.

Smaller enterprises face particular difficulties, as many depend on digital platforms, while having limited resources to employ dedicated security specialists.

Shabir Ahmed, Mastercard senior vice president and Customer Solutions Center lead for Africa, said protecting digital growth had become a priority for business leaders.

“Africa’s digital growth is creating real opportunity for people and businesses across the continent, and protecting it has become a leadership priority. As threats become more sophisticated and coordinated, our response has to be just as coordinated,” he said. “That is why we launched the AfricaCybersecurity Center of Excellence, bringing the public and private sectors together to share intelligence, knowledge and best practices. Building that resilience together is how Africa continues to grow with confidence.”

The AfricaCybersecurity Center of Excellence is designed to help businesses and governments share information about emerging threats and improve their responses through training and practical exercises. Such initiatives could also help expand the pool of skilled cybersecurity professionals.

Africa’s 200,000 unfilled positions represent an opportunity for both universities and specialist training providers, particularly as cybersecurity has become an increasingly broad discipline. Cybersecurity training offers a potential route into technology careers for young Africans, particularly through practical certification programmes and workplace experience. However, the headline skills shortage is a measure of unmet demand, and converting it into employment will depend on employers investing in training and recruitment.

Industry’s expansion could generate significant demand for specialist skills within Africa, along with opportunities to provide services to international customers. With a projected $1.5-trillion digital payments economy emerging across the continent, Africa has a powerful commercial incentive to develop cybersecurity expertise on a much larger scale.

• The full Mastercard whitepaper,

  Africa’s Digital Defense Race

  , is available online.

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