ANCA – Africa’s Gateway to Cybersecurity

How Africa’s governments are converging on a single front door for cyber cooperation

At a high-level partners’ roundtable convened on the margins of GITEX Marrakech on 8 April 2026, governments, development finance institutions, regional economic communities and the private sector signaled a clear shift: the African Network of Cybersecurity Authorities (ANCA) is moving from concept to continental infrastructure and from a government’s perspective, it is fast becoming the single front door for cybersecurity cooperation in Africa.

“Africa’s digital transformation is like a large, powerful ship moving at speed. But the ocean is rough. Cyber threats are the storms. And right now, that ship has no anchor to hold it steady. ANCA is that anchor.”

That framing, delivered by the Director General and CEO of Smart Africa – Mr. Lacina Koné, host of the ANCA Secretariat, captured the strategic intent behind the Marrakech meeting. ANCA is not another network or another forum. It is the bridge between 50+ national cybersecurity authorities and the global partners working to secure African cyberspace and the platform through which cybersecurity investments can finally be designed and deployed across borders, not trapped within them.

For African governments, the case for ANCA is operational, not ceremonial. The foundation, architecture, governance, the constitution and the five-year strategy are now in place. The next phase is alliances that bring those foundations to life through financial, technical and political support, and through innovative financing for critical infrastructure and national CERT resilience.