Digital Investment Facility

Strengthening cybersecurity capabilities for Africa’s data infrastructure

How can secure, resilient and investment-ready data infrastructure be built to support Africa’s digital future? As part of the EU Global Gateway’s Data Governance in Africa initiative, delivered through the Digital Investment Facility (DIF), Gofore supported policymakers, regulators, investors and data centre operators in strengthening cybersecurity governance, operational capabilities and data infrastructure resilience across multiple African countries.

Objective

Strengthening the foundations for secure and trusted data infrastructure

Digital services, economic growth and digital inclusion depend on infrastructure that can be trusted. Data centres play a central role in supporting data sovereignty, service continuity and the reliable delivery of digital services.

The objective of the initiative was to strengthen cybersecurity capabilities and governance practices around data infrastructure, while supporting the development of secure, resilient and investment-ready data centre environments. The work also aimed to enhance the capabilities of public-sector organisations, regulators and private-sector operators to manage cybersecurity risks and align with internationally recognised standards and frameworks.

Solution

Cybersecurity guidance, training and capability development

Gofore provided cybersecurity expertise that connected national governance, organisational governance and operational data centre security into a single, coherent approach.

As part of the project, Gofore contributed to the development of public Cybersecurity Guidelines for Data Infrastructure and a summary document for decision-makers. The guidance was anchored in the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and also introduced Traficom’s Kybermittari maturity assessment model, which emphasises the evaluation of critical assets.

In addition, Gofore designed and delivered workshops and training sessions in Abuja, Nigeria, and Johannesburg, South Africa. Hundreds of professionals from government organisations, regulatory bodies and the private sector participated. Online training sessions extended participation to additional stakeholders across the region. These materials provide a practical foundation for continuing capacity building in future programmes and projects.

“What makes this work particularly valuable is its ability to serve multiple needs at once: guiding policy, de-risking digital infrastructure investments, and building real operational capability.”

Juha Miettinen, Project Lead, DIF

Outcome

A stronger foundation for secure digital infrastructure development

The project produced publicly available cybersecurity guidance and supporting materials to help organisations develop secure and well-governed data infrastructure. Alongside the public deliverables, Gofore developed a set of reusable capacity-building resources, maturity assessment tools and a knowledge repository that can be leveraged in future projects to accelerate cybersecurity capacity building and support secure data infrastructure programmes.

The workshops and training activities strengthened cybersecurity capabilities among public-sector organisations, regulators and data centre operators while creating a shared understanding of how internationally recognised cybersecurity frameworks can be applied within local operating environments.

The work supported the development of secure, resilient and sustainable data infrastructure and strengthened collaboration between public and private-sector stakeholders across multiple African countries.

The outputs of the project provide a foundation for future data infrastructure development and investment. They help organisations strengthen cybersecurity governance, improve operational maturity and apply internationally recognised practices as data centre ecosystems continue to develop across the continent.

Key figures

3 connected perspectives: national governance, organisational governance and operational maturity
2 training locations: Abuja, Nigeria and Johannesburg, South Africa
Hundreds of participants from government organisations and the private sector
5 countries represented in the training activities: Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Rwanda and Kenya
1 public cybersecurity guideline package developed to support data infrastructure security and governance

Project highlights

Objective

To support the development of secure, well-governed and investment-ready data infrastructure for Africa’s digital future as part of a Team Europe initiative under the EU Global Gateway programme.

Solution

Public cybersecurity guidance and a decision-maker summary were produced, alongside workshops and training sessions involving hundreds of professionals from government and the private sector. The project strengthened cybersecurity capabilities and established a common foundation for developing secure data infrastructure across participating countries.

Outcome

The programme is still ongoing, but the impact of change management is already visible in everyday work: people now share a common understanding of the transformation, and progress is guided by data. Targeted support helps keep work running smoothly, reduces the burden of change, and supports the realisation of business benefits. LocalTapiola Life has also strengthened its change management capabilities for future transformations.

Expertise