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The Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), has announced the 2025 edition of its flagship ThinkNnovation Cybersecurity Conference, a major initiative aimed at combating rising cyber threats and enhancing resilience across Nigeria’s financial services industry.
The conference, themed “Securing Tomorrow: Cyber Resilience, Intelligent Defence and the Architecture of Trust in a Borderless World,” is scheduled to take place on October 22, 2025, in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Speaking ahead of the event, Chizor Malize, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FITC, emphasized that cybercrime has become one of the most critical threats to Africa’s digital economy, with financial institutions, government agencies, and private businesses facing increasingly sophisticated attacks.
“Cybercrime has become one of the most urgent threats facing Africa’s digital economy. From advanced fraud schemes to cross-border ransomware incidents, the cost of insecurity is escalating at an alarming rate,” Malize said.
She explained that while Africa’s digital economy continues to expand through innovations such as mobile payments, blockchain, digital lending, and cross-border e-commerce, this growth has simultaneously exposed the continent to heightened cyber risks.
Citing the African Union’s Cybersecurity Outlook 2024, Malize revealed that cybercrime costs the continent an estimated $4 billion annually, with Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa accounting for more than half of these losses.
“As Africa moves boldly into the digital age, its economic future depends on one word: trust,” she noted. “ThinkNnovation 2025 is not just another conference—it’s a platform for urgent dialogue and coordinated action. We must embed cyber resilience into every layer of our systems, from payments and digital identity to regulation and infrastructure.”
The ThinkNnovation Cybersecurity Conference 2025 will bring together regulators, CIOs, CISOs, CROs, bank executives, fintech leaders, policymakers, and international cybersecurity experts to explore strategies for combating financial fraud and enhancing systemic resilience.
FITC stated that the collaboration with NIBSS underscores the growing need for industry-wide cooperation, as Africa’s financial ecosystem becomes more interconnected across banks, fintechs, and regulatory institutions.
“Collaboration is the cornerstone of a secure financial future,” FITC added. “Through this partnership, we aim to equip stakeholders with the tools, insights, and frameworks needed to build a more trusted and cyber-resilient financial system for Africa.”
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