Digital Business Ecosystem Vulnerability in Africa: A Multi-Method Analysis of Economic Scale and Cyber-Loss Exposure
Marilyn Sithole ORCID ↗ · Odette Swart ORCID ↗ · Freddy Muzhelele ORCID ↗
International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy · 2026 · Vol. 8 / Issue 6 · 400-420
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Abstract
Africa’s digital business ecosystems are expanding rapidly through mobile banking, fintech innovation, digital payments, e-commerce, and cross-border financial integration. While these developments promote economic growth and financial inclusion, they also increase cybersecurity vulnerabilities across interconnected organisations and stakeholders. This study examines the relationship between economic scale and cybersecurity breach costs across 55 African countries. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research combines qualitative classification of countries according to digital-finance integration with quantitative analyses, including descriptive statistics, kurtosis, and regression modelling. The findings reveal substantial regional variation in cyber-risk exposure, with phishing, malware, business email compromise, and social engineering emerging as the most prevalent threats. The results demonstrate that cyber risk should be understood as an ecosystem-level phenomenon arising from increasing digital interconnectedness among financial institutions, fintech firms, mobile-money providers, governments, and consumers. Regression analysis indicates a statistically significant positive association between GDP and cybersecurity breach costs, suggesting that larger economies generally experience higher financial losses from cyber incidents. However, the findings reflect association rather than causation, as factors such as cybersecurity maturity, digital infrastructure, internet penetration, and regulatory effectiveness may also contribute to cyber-loss exposure. High-GDP countries, including Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and Kenya, experience disproportionately higher breach costs. The study contributes an ecosystem-oriented framework for understanding cyber-loss exposure and provides evidence to support targeted cybersecurity investment, governance, and resilience-building strategies across Africa.
Keywords: {'name': 'Cybersecurity breach costs; Economic scale; GDP; Cyber risk; Africa'}
Authors & affiliations
Marilyn Sithole
Affiliation not supplied
Odette Swart
Affiliation not supplied
Freddy Muzhelele
Affiliation not supplied
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