Africa CYBER Defense FORUM

05/01/2026

Happy new year 🎊!

Business Series Uganda 🇺🇬 is an event that brings together financial sector leaders from Uganda, East Africa and across the continent to share real-world lessons on combating Cyber Fraud and Threat Intelligence in the Financial Sector on Thursday 27 March 2026.

As we endeavour to curate a memorable meeting of minds, we have selected Golden Tulip Canaan Kampala as the ideal venue for this event. Hotel Golden Tulip Canaan Kampala is renown for modern comfort, exceptional services and breath-taking views of Kampala's skyline, attributes that synergise seamlessly with the calibre of events we host.

Are you ready to enlighten Uganda's financial industry on best practices and intelligence-sharing models around Cyber Fraud and Threat Intelligence in the Financial Sector?

Register on https://africacyberdefenseforum.com/events/2026-2/acdf-business-series-uganda/register/

Register for ACDF Business Series Uganda 2026

09/12/2025

Co-hosted with Uganda Bankers’ Association (UBA), the inaugural edition of Business Series Uganda 2026 will focus on Cyber Fraud and Threat Intelligence in the Financial Sector.

The rapid expansion of Africa's financial sector through fintech innovation, mobile banking and cross-border digital transaction, has improved financial inclusion but also increased exposure to cyber fraud and financial crime.

Uganda and the wider Eastern African financial sector has been plagued by digital payment fraud, insider threats, SIM swap schemes, and unauthorized access to financial platforms, resulting in substantial financial losses. Limited intelligence sharing and fragmented responses allow cybercriminals to exploit vulnerabilities.

Join us at Sheraton Kampala Hotel on 27 March 2026 as financial sector leaders share real-world lessons, best practices, and intelligence-sharing models.

Register to participate
https://africacyberdefenseforum.com/events/2026-2/acdf-business-series-uganda/

03/12/2025

In Kigali, leaders from across the African continent didn't just meet, they signed the future during the 6th edition of Africa Cyber Defense Forum (ACDF) held from 29 Sept to 3 Oct 2025. A sovereign and secure digital future affirmed by the following declarations:

1️⃣ Strengthening Digital Sovereignty
2️⃣ Harmonizing Legal and Policy Frameworks
3️⃣ Fostering Pan-African Cyber Collaboration
4️⃣ Investing in Capacity Building & Skills Development
5️⃣ Promoting Innovation and Local Solutions
6️⃣ Enhancing Public–Private Partnerships
7️⃣ Upholding Human Rights and Digital Trust

The Declaration for Action is a commitment to defend and advance a secure and sovereign digital Africa, ensuring that our continent’s digital future is secure, resilient, inclusive and African-led.

Find out more on
https://africacyberdefenseforum.com/events/acdf-kigali-2025/declaration/



African Telecommunications Union • AFRALTI

17/10/2025

Africa is the world’s next economic powerhouse. But that rapid-fire growth is a bullseye for the bad guys, draining billions, eroding trust, and stalling the gold rush.

At the 6th Africa Cyber Defense Forum (ACDF) in Kigali, the continent didn't just meet, it drew a line in the digital sand. This isn't a suggestion; it's the Kigali Declaration for Action: a commitment to defend an African-led, Secure and Sovereign Digital Africa.

Here are the non-negotiables:
✅ Strengthen Digital Sovereignty
• Prioritize Africa’s ownership of its digital future by developing indigenous cybersecurity capabilities, technologies, and standards.
• Safeguard Africa’s data, critical infrastructure, and cyberspace from undue external influence or exploitation.

✅ Harmonize Legal and Policy Frameworks
• Accelerate the domestication and implementation of the Malabo Convention on Cybersecurity and Data Protection, Africa AI Continental Strategy and other relevant frameworks.
• Promote harmonized cybersecurity, data governance, and digital trade laws across the African Union and Regional Economic Communities (RECs).

✅ Foster Pan-African Cyber Collaboration
• Establish and strengthen national and regional CERTs/CSIRTs and threat intelligence sharing mechanisms.
• Establish within ACDF relevant policy and technical committees, on relevant thematic areas, to tackle challenging cyber related issues.
• Build or develop coordination frameworks against global cyber threats.

✅ Invest in Capacity Building & Skills Development
• Expand specialized training programs for cybersecurity professionals, policymakers, law enforcement, judiciary, and especially youth (Gen Z).
• Encourage exchange of expertise and resources between African nations and the rest of the world.
• Establish a dedicated trust fund to support cyber capacity building with Africa.

✅ Promote Innovation and Local Solutions
• Invest in African start-ups and research institutions developing AI-driven cybersecurity, digital identity, and data protection solutions.
• Promote establishment of continental innovation hubs to foster trusted digital technologies for Africa by Africans.

✅ Enhance Public–Private Partnerships
• Deepen collaboration between governments, telecom operators, financial institutions, and technology companies in securing Africa’s cyberspace.
• Strengthen collective defense strategies through industry–government cooperation.

✅ Uphold Human Rights and Digital Trust
• Ensure cybersecurity initiatives protect fundamental rights, including privacy, freedom of expression, and access to information.
• Build trust between governments and citizens to advance Africa’s digital transformation agenda.

The world is watching. The commitment is real. The future is African-owned.

17/10/2025

Think you’ve got what it takes to outsmart a cybercriminal? To trace a digital ghost? To lock down a system like Fort Knox while the clock’s ticking? Then the inaugural edition of Cyberlympics Bostwana 🇧🇼 2025/26 is for you!

From 30–31 October 2025, the online qualifiers go live, open to students, pros, and cyber-curious minds across Botswana. Survive the challenge of ethical hacking, digital forensics, incident response, and network defense, and earn a ticket to the Grand Finals in Gaborone on 27 February 2026, where the top 10 teams face off in a 24-hour, high-stakes Capture The Flag (CTF) showdown.

🏆 Real threats. Real skills. Real glory.

Backed by Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) and BwCIRT, Cyberlympics Botswana is your chance to:
✅ Train like a pro
✅ Protect like a patriot
✅ Compete like a legend

Whether you’re a university whiz, a self-taught coder, or a security pro sharpening your edge, assemble your squad of 2 to 4 players and register now

🔗 Register today at https://cyberlympics.africa/countries/botswana/

📅 Qualifiers: 30–31 Oct 2025 (Online)
📍 Finals: 27 Feb 2026 | Gaborone

16/09/2025

The Next Frontier of Africa's Digital Sovereignty Isn't in the Code. It's in the Strategy.

The numbers are improving and the momentum is building. But in the race to secure our digital future, progress can mask critical vulnerabilities.

What happens when a continent leaps forward, but its critical infrastructure is left exposed?

Prepare to have your perspective challenged at .

We are not just excited, we are profoundly compelled to announce that lenah chacha, Lab Manager - Research at The Upanzi Network at CMU-Africa, will take the stage to deliver a session that will redefine the conversation: A Practical Glance of What Next for African States in Order to Improve Their Cybersecurity Posture.

This isn't theory. This is a ground-level, data-driven analysis from one of the continent's sharpest operational minds.

Lenah isn't just talking about cybersecurity; she and her teams are in the trenches, conducting the vital audits on the systems that matter most: e-government services, national ID systems, and the very biometrics hardware we trust with our identities.

In this unmissable session, you will get:
✅ The Unfiltered Recap: A data-led diagnosis of where African cybersecurity truly stands today.
✅ The Glaring Gaps: An exclusive look at the critical vulnerabilities within our essential infrastructure.
✅ The Practical Blueprint: Insights from the front lines of Upanzi Network's work on how to build, enforce, and sustain real digital sovereignty.
✅ The Hard Truths: A revealing glance into the security issues plaguing e-government services across the continent.

🗓️ Save the Date: ACDF 2025
📍 Where: Kigali, Rwanda
📅 When: Sept 29 - Oct 3, 2025
🎯 Theme: Towards a Secure and Sovereign Digital Africa

The future of a secure Africa isn't a wish. It's a plan. And you need to hear it.

👉 Ready to be part of the solution?
https://africacyberdefenseforum.com/events/acdf-kigali-2025/

15/09/2025

Meet the Woman Fortifying Africa's Digital Future from the Ground Up

The most critical cyber battles aren’t fought in global tech HQs. They are won in the institutions that power our daily lives, in water supply authorities and public utilities. The heart of our communities. This is where we build true digital sovereignty.

It is with immense fire and conviction that we announce a pivotal voice for : Rahabu SAKILALI. As the Head of ICT & Statistics for Morogoro Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authority, Rahabu isn’t talking about theory.

For over 13 years, she has been on the front lines, engineering cyber-resilience into the very fabric of Tanzania’s public sector.

Her session at the Africa Cyber Defense Forum is not to be missed:
“Building Cyber-Resilient Institutions: Advancing Local Solutions for Africa’s Digital Future.”

This is more than a presentation. It’s a blueprint. Rahabu will shatter the myth that advanced tech alone is the answer. She will reveal how true resilience is built on:
🔒 Local Innovation & Talent – Why homegrown solutions are Africa's ultimate cyber power.
🔒 People & Governance – Forging a culture of accountability beyond the software.
🔒 Inclusive Leadership – How bridging the gender gap isn't just about equity—it's about building stronger, more representative defenses for all Africans.

She embodies the 2025 theme: “Towards a Secure and Sovereign Digital Africa.” This is that vision, in action.

If you believe Africa's digital destiny must be written by Africans, for Africans, this is your call to arms.
👉 Join us. Be transformed. Secure our future.
👉 Register Now: https://africacyberdefenseforum.com/events/acdf-kigali-2025/

11/09/2025

The Strategy of Resilience: The ACDF 2025 Agenda is Now Live

We are proud to unveil the official agenda for the Africa Cyber Defense Forum 2025. This is not merely a schedule, it is the strategic plan for a secure, sovereign, and transformative digital future for Africa.

Prepare to immerse yourself in over 20 hours of unparalleled insight. We've curated a world-class program featuring:
🔐 Ground-breaking keynotes from the foremost minds in global cybersecurity.
🤝 Hard-hitting panel debates on sovereignty, policy, and emerging threats.
💡 Practical workshops to sharpen your skills.
✨ Exclusive demo zones showcasing the future of cyber defense technology.

Explore the agenda and build your itinerary now:
https://africacyberdefenseforum.com/events/acdf-kigali-2025/programme/

But don't just plan your day, secure your place. Registration is open:
https://africacyberdefenseforum.com/events/acdf-kigali-2025/

26/08/2025

You think you control your identity? You don't. Every scroll, swipe, and lol is being woven into a Digital Doppelgänger, an AI-crafted shadow-self more powerful than your passport, birth certificate, and driver's license combined.

This isn't sci-fi. It's happening right now while you read this:
→ Your private DMs are training data for threat actors.
→ Your fun quizzes are building psychological weapon systems.
→ Your innocent location tags are mapping your vulnerabilities.

👉 Attend in Kigali from 29 – 30 Sept where Oscar Okwero, Cyber & Data Security Engineer at CyberIntel Technologies Ltd will reveal how to kill your digital doppelgänger during his 20-minute lecture on Digital Identity Risks on Social Media.

🗓️ Conference Days: 1st - 2nd October 2025
📍 Location: Marriott Hotel, Rwanda
🌐 Website: https://africacyberdefenseforum.com/events/acdf-kigali-2025/

20/08/2025

For one week in Kigali, the minds building a secure, sovereign digital Africa will convene. We're talking ministers and programmers, CISOs and founders. The people who write policy and the people who write code.
is where the blueprint gets drawn.

📍 Where: Kigali, Rwanda
🗓️ When: 29 Sept – 3 Oct, 2025
🎯 Theme: Towards a Secure and Sovereign Digital Africa

Your Week to Shape the Decade:
🧠 Deep Dive: Intensive Workshops & Training on 29 – 30 Sept
✨ Connect: Exclusive Gala Dinner on 30 Sept 30
💡 Strategize: Keynotes, Panels & Demos from the brightest minds on 1 – 2 Oct
⛳ Network: The legendary ACDF Golf Open on 3 Oct

This is where deals are made, partnerships are forged, and the next great African tech giant gets its start.

Your continent's digital sovereignty is not a spectator sport.
👉 https://africacyberdefenseforum.com/events/acdf-kigali-2025/

Tag the leader who needs to be there. Tag the innovator who's building the future. See you in Kigali.