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Côte d’Ivoire has opened a Cisco-powered cybersecurity centre in Abidjan, positioning the city as a new hub for digital defence and specialist training across West and Central Africa.
A regional security operation
US technology company Cybastion announced the launch of the Cisco Cybersecurity Center at Cybastion on 5 November. The facility is designed to support Côte d’Ivoire’s cyber readiness while serving organisations and governments across the wider region.
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The centre includes a Security Operations Centre, intended to monitor digital systems for suspicious activity, and an incident-response team to investigate attacks and help restore affected services. Cybastion will manage and operate the facility, which uses Cisco technology.
Djibril Ouattara, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Digital Transition and Technological Innovation, said the project would strengthen the country’s resilience to cyber threats and its ambition to become a regional centre of expertise.
Training as well as defence
The project is also framed as a workforce-development initiative, not simply a technical command centre. Through Cisco Networking Academy and the Africa DigiEmpower programme, Cybastion, Cisco and the Ivorian government aim to train 200,000 young people and women in cybersecurity, networking and artificial intelligence skills by 2030.
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That target matters in a region where digitised public services, financial technology and cross-border commerce are expanding faster than the supply of trained cyber professionals. More locally based expertise could help institutions respond more quickly to attacks and create career pathways in a high-value sector for young Africans.
Nassénéba Touré, Minister of Women, Family and Children, said expanding women’s and young people’s access to cybersecurity training would support their participation in the country’s digital transformation.
Part of a broader digital push
The launch builds on an October 2025 memorandum involving Cybastion, Cisco and Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Women, Family and Children. It also arrives as the Ivorian state strengthens its institutional approach to cyber resilience: the National Agency for Information Systems Security, known as ANSSI, launched a national network of public-sector information-security leaders in June.
For Black communities across Africa and the diaspora, cybersecurity is increasingly tied to economic sovereignty. Digital systems hold public records, financial data and the infrastructure supporting businesses, schools and health services. Building African-based capacity to secure them can reduce dependence on outside response teams while opening technical careers for a generation often locked out of the global technology economy.
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The centre’s impact will now depend on whether its training reaches learners beyond Abidjan, how quickly its operations become effective, and how well it works alongside Côte d’Ivoire’s existing public cybersecurity institutions.