Business
Africa remains phishing prone, but ongoing training slashes risk
The report is based on data from over 12.5 million users across 35,681 organisations in 19 different industries
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, August 16, 2023/APO Group/ —
More than one in three of corporate employees in Africa are vulnerable to phishing attacks and social engineering scams. However, regular training can significantly reduce their chances of falling victim to such cyber threats.
This is among the key findings of KnowBe4’s 2023 Phishing by Industry Benchmarking Report for Africa (https://apo-opa.info/3KJj9nc), which measures organisations’ Phish-prone Percentage (PPP) – an indication of how many of their employees are likely to fall for phishing or a social engineering scam.
The report is based on data from over 12.5 million users across 35,681 organisations in 19 different industries. The results of over 32.1 million simulated phishing security tests are also included. This year’s report details international phishing benchmarks from North America, The United Kingdom and Ireland, Europe, Africa, South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
In Africa, 412 organisations from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Botswana participated in the phishing simulation tests, with a total of 337,937 emails sent. The majority of these organisations (58%) were small (1-249 employees), followed by medium (26%, 250-999 employees) and large (16%, 1000+ employees) ones.
The resulting baseline PPP measured the percentage of employees in organisations that had not conducted any KnowBe4 security training and clicked a simulated phishing email link or opened an infected attachment during testing.
African business users had a lower baseline PPP than many other regions, meaning they were less likely to fall for phishing attacks before any training. However, their improvement after 90 days of training was also lower than other regions. After a year of ongoing training, African users achieved a 79.8% improvement in their PPP, showing the effectiveness of consistent security awareness education.
Africa’s human firewall
Africa’s average was 32.8%, slightly better than the global average and much better than South America, where the average was 41.1%
“The report underscores the fact that while technology plays an important role in preventing and recovering from an attack, organisations cannot afford to ignore the human factor,” says Anna Collard, Senior Vice President of Content Strategy & Evangelist for KnowBe4 Africa. “The root cause of most data breaches can be traced to the human factor.”
The report shows that without security training, 33.2% of employees across all regions and industries are likely to fall for phishing attacks or fraudulent requests. Africa’s average was 32.8%, slightly better than the global average and much better than South America, where the average was 41.1%. Asia had the lowest rate of phishing – 30%.
Collard notes: “Africa’s baseline phishing security test results shows that one out of three employees are likely to click on a suspicious link or email or comply with a fraudulent request before receiving training. This is very concerning considering that Africa has seen the fastest growth in cyber crimes in recent years, especially among small and medium-sized organisations.”
Training slashes risk
90 days after training, Africa’s PPP average was 20.5% compared to the global average of 18.5%. After a year of consistent training, Africa’s PPP was 6.6%, compared to a global average of 5.4%, indicating that new habits become normal, fostering an improved security culture.
At baseline, Africa’s medium-sized enterprises had the lowest PPP – at 29.4%, followed by small enterprises at 30% and large enterprises with a surprisingly high 33.3%. After training, large enterprises performed best, with a PPP average of 19% 90 days after training and 5.7% after a year. Medium sized enterprises improved to 22.7% 90 days after training, and 10.5% after a year. Small enterprises’ PPP improved to 25.2% after 90 days and 9% after a year.
The report also revealed which industries are most vulnerable to cyber threats and have the highest PPP, indicating more vulnerability and a greater need for security awareness training. Across small and medium organisations globally, the healthcare and pharmaceuticals industries had the highest PPP of 32.3% and 35.8%, respectively. In large organisations, the insurance industry remained the most at risk for a second consecutive year with a PPP of 53.2% globally. With consistent training for a year or more, the global average PPP improvement across sectors was 82%.
“These findings highlight the importance of ongoing, consistent cybersecurity awareness training and testing to achieve significant risk reduction,” says Collard. “Simply warning users or having a once-off training session is not enough. Cybersecurity needs to be ingrained into company culture.”
To download a copy of the 2023 KnowBe4 Phishing by Industry Benchmarking Report, visit https://apo-opa.info/3KH885z.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of KnowBe4.
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Tony Elumelu Foundation Selects Seven North African Entrepreneurs in 2026 Cohort
Seven North African entrepreneurs in technology, education, professional services and agriculture selected from 265,000 applications at historic Abuja ceremony
Hope is not just a feeling — it is a system we can build
- 7 North African entrepreneurs selected from Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt
- 51% of the 2026 cohort are women, all selected purely on merit, without any quota in place
- 3,200 total entrepreneurs selected from 265,000+ applications across 54 African countries
- USD 5,000 in non-refundable seed capital for each selected entrepreneur
- Selection conducted independently by Ernst & Young
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) (www.TonyElumeluFoundation.org), the leading philanthropy empowering young African entrepreneurs, announced on Sunday, 22 March 2026 the 12th cohort of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme at a ceremony held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. The announcement was made by Founder Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R.
Among the 3,200 entrepreneurs selected from 265,000 applications received from all 54 African countries: seven from North Africa. Three from Tunisia, two from Morocco, two from Egypt. Spanning technology, education, professional services and agribusiness, they represent a generation of North African founders building businesses that address the urgent needs of their communities. Their selection, which was conducted independently by Ernst & Young, places them among the most rigorously assessed young entrepreneurs on the continent.
This year’s cohort carries a historic signal: 51 percent of the 2026 entrepreneurs are women. They were selected purely on merit, without quota. Across hundreds of thousands of applications, women distinguished themselves through the strength of their ideas, the clarity of their business models and the ambition of their vision.
In 2026, the Foundation is empowering a total of 3,200 entrepreneurs across all its entrepreneurship programmes:
- 1,751 entrepreneurs through Heirs Holdings Group: Heirs Energies, Transcorp Power, Transcorp Hotels, and United Capital;
- 1,049 entrepreneurs in partnership with the European Commission, OACPS, BMZ and GIZ;
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with Sèmè City Development Agency;
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with DEG, the German Development Agency;
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with the IKEA Foundation, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited and the Dutch Government; and
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with UNDP and the Rwandan Ministry of Youth and Arts.
Each selected Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur will receive USD 5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, access to world-class business management training on TEFConnect, one-on-one mentorship, and entry into a powerful network of investors, partners and fellow entrepreneurs.
In his annual letter (https://apo-opa.co/4uOFepM), “A Story of Hope,” Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R., Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, shared a powerful message to the new cohort:
“For a long time, I believed luck was something that simply happened to you. Then I came to understand: luck can be engineered. Opportunity can be democratised. Hope is not just a feeling — it is a system we can build.” — Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R., Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation — 2026 Annual Letter
The Tony Elumelu Foundation has empowered over 2.5 million young Africans with access to business management training on TEFConnect (https://TEFConnect.com), and disbursed over USD 100 million in seed capital to more than 24,000 selected entrepreneurs.
Collectively, these entrepreneurs have generated USD 4.2 billion in revenue and created more than 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs. Through its support for African entrepreneurs, TEF has lifted 2.1 million Africans above the poverty line and positively impacted more than 4 million African households, with 46% of supported entrepreneurs being African women. Eighty percent of TEF-supported businesses survive and scale, against a global average of ten to twenty percent.
The announcement ceremony was broadcast live in English (https://apo-opa.co/3PWLiML), French (https://apo-opa.co/3PWLiML), Portuguese (https://apo-opa.co/4t4Y7Da) and Arabic (https://apo-opa.co/4bYHlQl).
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Tony Elumelu Foundation.
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