Airtel Africa, has announced that its B2B provider, Airtel Business, has formed a new partnership with Cisco to provide secure internet access to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Africa, in support of their digital transformation journeys.
The partnership bundles Airtel Africa’s fixed connectivity solutions with Cisco Umbrella, a cloud-based, plug-and-play security solution.
The combination will secure businesses’ online transaction channels. Initially, the solution will be available in Kenya, Uganda, Congo-Brazzaville, and Madagascar before rolling out to the rest of Airtel Africa’s markets.
Africa has the fastest-growing digital consumer market, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic that shifted to e commerce and cashless transactions.
As SMEs adopt these platforms, they face a fast-evolving array of digital threats- from surveillance to critical infrastructure disruption and delays due to cyber attacks and malware, hence the need to protect them and their customers.
Luc Serviant, Group Enterprise Director, Airtel Business at Airtel Africa commented: “Internet penetration is rising across Africa and systems are even more connected as the digital transformation is driving growth amongst organisations.
“Through our partnership with Cisco, we support SMEs and entrepreneurs across Africa with their end-to-end digital presence and secure, reliable internet to protect them from foreign attacks.“
Vikas Sharma Client Partner at Cisco said: “We are excited to partner with Airtel Africa to deliver this fast, flexible and effective security solution to businesses in the continent.
“It combines multiple security functions enabling businesses to protect devices, remote users and location everywhere. This is what SMEs in Africa need as they embark on their digital transformation journeys.”
