Smart Africa and RealTyme have expanded their cybersecurity cooperation through an addendum to their existing Memorandum of Understanding, signed during Geneva Cyber Week on May 14, 2026.
The announcement made during Geneva Cyber Week held on May 14, highlights a broader continental push to improve cyber resilience, protect digital infrastructure, and build trust in Africa’s fast-growing digital economy. The move is aimed at strengthening Africa’s digital defenses at a time when governments, businesses, and citizens are becoming increasingly dependent on secure digital systems.
Picture Showing Smart Africa and RealtyTyme Alliance Deal Signing in Geneva Switzerland – PhotoCredit: UNIDIR/Antoine Tardy Copyright: Antoine TARDY
This new alliance comes as Cybersecurity attacks in Africa are surging as the continent’s rapid digital transformation outpaces its security defenses. Driven by AI-enabled threats and expanding mobile networks, regions across the continent now face some of the highest weekly attack volumes globally, with sectors like finance, government, and energy bearing the brunt of the malicious activity
Today in Africa, the continent is witnessing a rapid increase in Cyberattacks. Today, Nigeria is experiencing the highest volume of Cyberattacks in Africa with local organizations in Nigeria witnessing well over 4,000 to 6,000 weekly attacks, largely driven by AI-automated phishing and identity theft. Angola has followed Nigeria coming 2nd in terms of highest weekly Cyberattacks with the country recording approximately 4,512 attacks per organisation per week.
The Head of Security Engineering for Africa at Check Point Software Technologies, Ian van Rensburg has warned that the numbers reflect a shift in both scale and sophistication. This comes as Cybercriminals are now Leveraging AI tools to generate highly convincing phishing emails, smishing, and identity theft mechanisms at an unprecedented scale.
Smart Africa and RealtyMe New CyberSecurity Alliance Deal to Strengthen CyberDefense in Africa
This Rising wake Cyberattacks in Africa has sounded a wake up call for Cyber Operatives and Industry elites. Africa is now building its own cybersecurity backbone, and it just got a major upgrade. Smart Africa and RealTyme announced alliance at the Geneva Cyber week, aims to Strengthen African Cybersecurity from AI-driven defence, to post-quantum encryption with sovereign deployment timed for 180 days.
The newly launched Strategic Initiative between Smart Africa and RealtyTyme is aimed at Protecting National Sovereignty through Secure AI & Governance Policy. Smart Africa and RealTyme alliance looks to expand their cybersecurity partnership to strengthen African cyber institutions, training, and digital defenses.
Today, the African continent faces a 60% higher rate of cyber-attacks than the global average, this initiative moves beyond theoretical training to provide a National Protection Framework. The partnership is designed to ensure that the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and modern digital tools does not come at the cost of national security, executive privacy, or judicial independence.
Focus on Increasing Cyberattacks in Africa
A central part of the Collaboration is the adoption of advanced security measures designed to address increasingly complex cyber risks and cyber attacks in Africa. The Partnership will cover areas such as secure communication technologies, advanced security protocols, Artificial Intelligence-enabled security systems, digital identity protection, and readiness for post-quantum Cryptography. These priorities reflect the changing nature of cyber threats, including risks linked to identity fraud, insecure networks, data breaches, and future vulnerabilities that may emerge as Computing Technologies evolve.
Picture Showing Smart Africa and RealtyTyme Alliance Deal Signing in Geneva Switzerland – PhotoCredit: UNIDIR/Antoine Tardy Copyright: Antoine TARDY
This alliance is very important for Cybersecurity In Africa as the continent is witnessing a huge wave of Cyberattacks o. Businesses and Institutions in the continent. Recently, the Nigerian Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) suffered a huge Cyberattack which saw over 25 Million highly sensitive business information data and corporate records stolen away. Internationally recognized Cyberhackers ByteToReach subsequently claimed responsibility for the Mega Cyberattack at saw highly sensitive Data concerning Registered Businesses in Nigeria stolen away.
Strengthening Critical Cyber Infrastructure
Smart Africa and RealTyme’s expanded cooperation will also support the development of essential cyber infrastructure in African countries. This includes assistance linked to Security Operations Centres, Computer Emergency Response Teams, and national cybersecurity centres, all of which play a key role in detecting, managing, and responding to cyber incidents. By helping countries establish and strengthen these structures, the partnership seeks to improve national preparedness and create a more coordinated regional cybersecurity environment.
The 2026 Rollout focuses on three Non-Negotiable Pillars of Digital Defence
Absolute Data Sovereignty & Decolonization: Establishing dedicated, state-controlled communication enclaves. This ensures that sensitive government intelligence remains within national borders, shielded from unauthorized foreign jurisdiction, commercial data mining, and external “kill switches.”
Tactical AI Governance & Safeguards: Moving from ethical guidelines to binding jurisdictional controls. The framework ensures that AI systems deployed within the state operate strictly under national law, protecting against deepfake-driven disinformation and synthetic threats to institutional stability.
Post-Quantum Resilience (PQR): Deploying “Secure-by-Design” cryptographic standards to protect state secrets against “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” threats. This provides a multi-decade shield for national archives and high-level diplomatic communications.
Lacina Koné, Director General and CEO of Smart Africa, stated: “We are no longer just digitizing; we are defending. By partnering with RealTyme, we are equipping our member states with the tactical tools to build, run, and protect their digital infrastructure on their own terms. This is a decisive step toward digital decolonization, ensuring that Africa’s future is owned and secured by Africans.”
François Rodriguez, CCO and Creator of the RealTyme Learning, added: “Digital sovereignty cannot be bought; it must be built through local resilience. Our joint initiative is committed to empowering nations with the specialized skills to manage their own cyber-defenses, ensuring a sustainable and secure digital future for all.”
About Smart Africa & SADA
The Smart Africa Alliance is a bold commitment by African Heads of State and Government to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development on the continent through ICTs and digital transformation. With 42 Member States and over 50 private-sector and development partners, Smart Africa’s vision is to create a single digital market for Africa that drives innovation, competitiveness, and inclusive growth.
Smart Africa Digital Academy (SADA) is the continental vehicle for high-level institutional protection and capacity building, ensuring that African leaders possess the sovereign capabilities to safeguard the global digital economy.
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Through this partnership, SADA will deliver operational guidance and decision-support tools to ICT Ministries, Interior Ministries, and Cybersecurity Authorities (including the ANCA network), transforming national digital strategy into an impenetrable line of defence for the 21st century.
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