Author: Doros Hadjizenonos

South Africa just celebrated Freedom Day, but it’s worth asking what financial freedom looks like in the digital age. There are about six million South Africans who remain unbanked or underbanked, according to the GSMA, but who do have access to cell phones. This is where mobile money services step in, providing a clear path towards financial inclusion, as players like M-Pesa have proved in Kenya, which has a mobile money penetration rate of 87%. It’s a wondrous case of technological leap-frogging, but to ensure its momentum isn’t hobbled, we need to look at how to secure such a vast…

With municipal by-elections taking place across South Africa throughout 2025, attention is once again turning to the strength of local governance. But beyond the campaign posters and voting stations lies a less visible, yet equally vital, concern – cybersecurity. Never has it been more important to support the entire digital ecosystem that elections rely on. Election infrastructure, if compromised, could indirectly affect public confidence, voter turnout, or even access to services during critical democratic moments. Municipal vulnerabilities Data from Interpol’s 2023 Cyberthreat Assessment ranks South Africa among the top five most targeted countries globally, underscoring just how persistent the threat has become.…