Grace Ashiru
Reports from the Nigerian Communications Commission inform us that Nigeria loses over $500 million years because of cybercrime. In light of this, Mastercard has partnered with NowNow, a Nigerian digital payment start-up that helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lower the risk of cyberattacks. The focus on SMEs is because generally, they lack sufficient resources to combat such threats.
According to the World Bank, SMEs represent 90% of businesses worldwide and employ more than 50% of the labor force which is why the sustainability of SMEs is important for economic prosperity.
After being aware of the devastating impact of COVID-19 on SMEs, Mastercard committed $250 million over a 5-year tenure to assist SMEs as well as launching the Mastercard Trust Centre to tackle their cybersecurity problems.
Executive Vice President, of Product Optimization and Customer Advancement, Cyber & Intelligence at Mastercard says, “As Mastercard brings the next billion people into the digital economy, it is vital that business owners feel as secure and safe from cybercrime as possible. Our partnership with NowNow is key to achieving this. Whether large or small, businesses deserve the peace of mind to operate knowing that they are being kept safe.”
NowNow is currently available in Angola and Nigeria and provides regular web application penetration tests to ensure that applications are not exposed to any cyber threats. Apart from Nigeria and Angola, they are expanding into other Markets in Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, and UAE which is part of the Mastercard Start Path Global Program designed to aid startups in the later stage scale-up. NowNow was given operational support, commercial engagement, and an opportunity for strategic investment. This partnership is to help their customers upgrade the security of the cyber system and better protect themselves from cybercriminals.
Sahir Berry who is the CEO of NowNow has said, “Like Mastercard, NowNow is committed to driving financial and digital inclusion by building an ecosystem that digitizes payments and creates access to financial services for businesses, governments, and customers in rural and urban communities using simplified branchless banking initiatives. We are excited to partner with the Mastercard Trust Centre to help our customers improve the security of their cyber ecosystem, and better protect themselves from cyber criminals.”
In conclusion, the partnership between Mastercard and NowNow will help tackle the cybersecurity needs of SMEs, allowing them to feel more secure and safe so they can focus on improving their business and playing their part in contributing to the prosperity of the economy.
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