Business Partnership Facility

Better protecting microfinance institutions against cyber attacks

• Senegal
• 2016
• Completed

Challenge

In Senegal, the microfinance sector is subject to increasingly frequent and significant IT security attacks, which players often lack the technical, human and financial resources to deal with. These attacks mainly concern money transfers and mobile payment fraud.

Innovative solution

The partners have set up a shared Cyber Security Operations Centre (COCS), based in Dakar, to supervise the IT infrastructures of the microfinance sector, prevent attacks, detect them and manage them effectively if necessary. The opening of the centre has also enabled several awareness-raising initiatives and on-site training for cyber security specialists.

Impact

• Strengthening the cybersecurity system of 46 Senegalese MFIs (microfinance institutions), making them less vulnerable to attacks on their IT systems
• The customers of these 46 MFIs (around 1.2 million) are better protected against the risks of personal data theft and fraud

Targeted Sustainable Development Goals

• 
  MFIs are being made aware of the challenges of cybersecurity, and specialists are being trained on site to support them.
• 
  MFI clients, most of whom are micro-entrepreneurs and very small businesses, are better protected against the risks of personal data theft and fraud.
• 
  The MFIs supported by the project have strengthened their measures to combat cyber attacks.

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