Application Deadline: June 8, 2026 Applications are now open for the 2026 AI Hub for Sustainable Development Cyber4Africa Programme. The Cyber4Africa Programme brings together Cyber 4.0’s deep expertise in cybersecurity capacity building, Cisco Kenya’s technical infrastructure and regional reach, and the AI Hub’s ecosystem position at the intersection of AI development, policy, and institutional trust. Together, these partners are building something that does not yet exist at scale in Africa: a practical, startup-oriented cyber resilience model that is embedded into the AI development lifecycle from the beginning. The programme is designed around a conviction that the most important interventions are upstream. Not auditing systems after vulnerabilities emerge, but equipping founders and technical teams to build securely from day one. It seeks to embed security-by-design into the innovation process so that trust is earned before it is tested. It also seeks to build a community of practice among African AI founders who understand that their collective security posture shapes the credibility of the entire ecosystem. Sectoral Focus The programme targets African AI startups in five sectors where cybersecurity exposure is most acute, and the consequences of failure are most severe: - Healthcare and Digital Health — patient records, diagnostics, and health infrastructure where security failures can compromise care and erode public trust. - Fintech and Financial Services — the most targeted sector globally, where cyber incidents undermine both financial inclusion and consumer confidence. - Govtech and Civic Technology — digital identity and e-government platforms where vulnerabilities directly compromise institutional legitimacy. - Energy and Climate Technology — AI-enabled infrastructure where digital vulnerabilities carry physical and national consequences. - AI Infrastructure and Data Platforms — the foundational layer where security failures cascade across entire networks of users, developers, and dependent systems. Programme Details The programme runs for six months and is structured around