A successful test event for the roll-out of a new cybersecurity toolkit, aimed at owners of small businesses, was held in Lagos in mid-February. Thirty-five business owners attended the event and were shown how to use the resources within the free toolkit to better protect their businesses online.

The toolkit, created by the Global Cyber Alliance, has been made available as part of the Digital Access Programme (DAP). Backed by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and KPMG, the DAP aims to improve cyber security and resilience, especially among more vulnerable groups in society.

With this in mind, almost all of the pilot event attendees were women. Research has previously shown that female small business owners are more likely to be victims of cybercrime than their male equivalents, as they typically have less access to valuable resources, support or advice.

The event was hosted by KPMG in association with the Cybersafe Foundation, a non-governmental organisation established to promote safer digital access across Africa.

In helping present the toolkit, Adedayo Adeniji, a Senior Associate at KPMG in Nigeria, said: “This really has been a landmark event. We’ve known for some time that women have far less access to the cybersecurity resources they need to keep themselves and their businesses safe. I hope that, through more events like this, we can begin to narrow this gap and help more women to help themselves.”

Post-event feedback suggested that the free resources were well received. Attendees felt more confident about how to keep their businesses secure and were keen to share the toolkit with other women who they felt could also benefit.

Demonstrating the problem that the FCDO is keen to help the Nigerian government to tackle, one attendee said, “I didn’t know what phishing was before today. I used to see weird emails and just ignore them but now I’m going to take the time to go through them carefully and check whether they’re phishing emails.”

Another added, “I wish I knew of this toolkit sooner. It could have really helped my sister who was scammed. She still hasn’t recovered from it.”

The event organisers’ attention now shifts to rolling out the toolkit on a wider and more sustainable basis. Future plans include another, much larger, event in April with over 250 small business owners in attendance.

Plans are also in place for a ‘train-the-trainer’ event, where attendees will be shown how to present the toolkit themselves to further audiences across the country.



To find out more, or to learn how to better protect your own business, check out the free Global Cyber Alliance small business toolkit today.