Google.org, the philanthropic arm of US technology giant Google, is funding a major three-year cybersecurity initiative aimed at protecting critical community institutions across Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, project organisers said.
The programme, dubbed “Resilio Africa,” will be implemented by the CyberSafe Foundation and is designed to strengthen the digital defences of more than 200 vulnerable institutions, protect over two million people and secure at least 15 million public records across the four countries.
CyberSafe Foundation said the initiative will focus on organisations that provide essential services but often lack the resources to defend themselves against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. These include non-profit organisations, healthcare providers and local public service institutions, which have become frequent targets for cybercriminals.
Interested institutions have been invited to apply to join the programme, which will offer free access to technical security tools, threat intelligence and hands-on training by cybersecurity experts.
The announcement comes amid growing concern over the scale of cyberattacks targeting public-interest institutions in Africa, as governments and service providers accelerate digitalisation. In Kenya alone, more than 114 cyberattacks targeting critical community institutions were recorded in the first eight months of 2024, according to data cited by CyberSafe Foundation. By the first quarter of 2025, reported incidents had surged by 201 percent.
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“At Google.org, we believe that access to secure digital systems is a cornerstone of inclusive growth,” the organisation said in a statement. “Our support for CyberSafe Foundation’s cybersecurity efforts reflects our shared commitment to empowering communities and protecting the institutions that serve them.”
CyberSafe Foundation said the project is intended to address a widening security gap created by rapid digital adoption across the continent. As public and community institutions move services online, many are collecting and storing large volumes of sensitive personal data without adequate cybersecurity safeguards.
“These institutions collect, process and store vast amounts of sensitive personal data, yet most lack the corresponding cybersecurity maturity,” the foundation said in a briefing note on the project.
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The vulnerability is part of a broader continental challenge. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has previously warned that more than 60 percent of African countries fall into the “low commitment” category for national cybersecurity readiness, despite rising internet penetration and digital service delivery.
“As services become more digitised, this creates a dangerous gap that cybercriminals are actively exploiting,” CyberSafe Foundation said, pointing to a rise in ransomware attacks, phishing schemes, data breaches and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Such incidents, it added, disrupt public services, expose sensitive data and erode public trust in digital systems.
Kenya has been named as a primary beneficiary of the Resilio Africa project, reflecting its rapid digital growth and exposure to cyber threats. Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa — three of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest and most digitally connected economies — are also expected to benefit significantly from the initiative.
Confidence Staveley, founder and executive director of CyberSafe Foundation, said the programme builds on existing capacity-building efforts but seeks to scale them to meet the growing threat landscape.
“Africa’s digital transformation cannot succeed if our communities remain vulnerable,” Staveley said. “With Google.org’s support, we are scaling a proven model of capacity-building that will help critical institutions become resilient, safeguard the people they serve, and preserve trust in digital public systems.”
Cybersecurity experts say attacks on hospitals, charities and local government agencies are particularly damaging because such institutions often lack backup systems and are under pressure to restore services quickly, making them more likely to pay ransoms or suffer prolonged disruptions.
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By embedding cybersecurity training and resilience measures at the community level, organisers of Resilio Africa hope to reduce these risks and ensure essential services can continue operating safely as Africa’s digital ecosystem expands.
The project underscores a broader push by international technology firms and regional organisations to support Africa’s digital transformation while addressing the security risks that accompany it, at a time when cybercrime is emerging as a significant threat to development and public trust across the continent.
