FEATURE is especially important across many African states, as many customers are in underserved areas. We are prioritising the advancement of automated underwriting and early-warning systems using behavioural and alternative data where permitted, and balancing this with humanoverride controls to ensure trust, fairness and regulatory compliance.
Underpinning all of these priorities for 2026 is process simplification through low-code automation, straight-through processing and digitised tools. These are reducing cost-to-serve and enabling us to fulfil our mission of enabling sustainable financial inclusion throughout Africa by leveraging technology to reach unbanked and underbanked communities across Africa.
Cybersecurity at the forefront
Cybersecurity has moved decisively to the forefront of CIO priorities across the Middle East and Africa, driven by rapid Digital
Transformation, expanding cloud adoption and an increasingly hostile threat environment. As governments and enterprises accelerate initiatives around smart cities, fintech, e-government and critical infrastructure modernisation, the region’ s digital footprint has grown, along with its exposure to cyber risk.
CIOs are now expected not only to enable innovation and operational efficiency, but also to safeguard national assets, customer trust and Business Continuity in the face of sophisticated cyberattacks, regulatory pressure and geopolitical uncertainty. In this context, CIOs across MEA are reshaping IT strategies to embed security by design, invest in resilience and align cybersecurity outcomes with broader organisational and economic objectives.
Cvete Koneska, Global Security Director at International SOS:
Volatility has characterised the events of 2026 so far, and organisations must prepare for more in the months ahead. Information security risks are accelerating globally, and our Risk Outlook 2026 report found that 57 % of respondents state new risks are emerging faster than they can deal with.
We are seeing a convergence of risks in today’ s world – stemming from geopolitical challenges, natural hazards, extreme weather, economic pressures and so on. As a result, CIOs need to become more agile in order to successfully anticipate, identify and address new and unexpected risks.
Access to verified time-sensitive risk intelligence is going to be crucial, but almost two-thirds( 66 %) of security professionals report that their funding will be static this year, and one in 10 expect budget cuts.
With more needing to be done with less, many organisations are turning to AI to drive efficiency www. intelligentcio. com
INTELLIGENT CIO MIDDLE EAST
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