Participants will gain skills to detect, respond to, and investigate cyber incidents through practical sessions on OSINT, MISP, memory forensics, and malware analysis.
This year’s theme is: “Enhancing Cyber Security Resilience through Inclusive and Gender-Responsive Participation.”
Kawsu Barrow, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at the Western Africa Regional Digital Integration Programme (WARDIP), said the project continues to support critical activities including this training.
“Our focus is not only on expanding digital infrastructure, but also on ensuring that it is secure, reliable, and capable of supporting national development. Cyber security is now central to national security and economic stability,” Barrow said.
Lawrence Muchilwa, Africa Regional Liaison for FIRST, said cyber resilience is not built by technology alone. “It is built by people, institutions, trust, and cooperation. We must rethink what inclusion and gender support means,” he said.
He noted Africa is undergoing rapid digital transformation. “In The Gambia, growth is driven by mobile money adoption and digital government services. Regionally, e-commerce, digital identity systems, and critical infrastructure like power grids and health systems are becoming more connected,” Muchilwa added.
Speaking for the PURA Director General, Deputy Director Solo Sima said the rapid integration of digital technologies has created immense opportunities but also expanded vulnerability.
“As connectivity deepens, so too does our exposure to cyber threats. There is no ambiguity: cyber security is not optional. It is the core foundation of national resilience,” Sima said.
He noted the programme is built on last year’s initiative, where strong demand showed the need for sustained capacity development. The Gambia Computer Security Incident Response Team, gmCSIRT, continues to strengthen national capabilities in threat detection, incident response, and coordinated action with stakeholders.
“Cyber security must not be seen as a silent function, but as a shared responsibility,” Sima stressed.
PURA Board Chair Lucy Faye-Jagne thanked public and private partners and the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy for its policy leadership. She cited the country’s fast-evolving digital landscape, with mobile money services now moving billions of dalasi annually through networks, alongside other services that did not exist before.
Sanusi Drammeh, Director of Cyber Security at the Ministry, speaking for the Minister, said digital growth is transforming communication, service delivery, and economic development in The Gambia.
“As digital adoption expands, so too does the need to build strong national capabilities to manage and respond to cyber threats. The Ministry remains committed to creating an enabling environment for robust cyber security capabilities,” Drammeh said.
He said a key priority is developing a skilled cyber security workforce. “Enhancing the capabilities of Gambian professionals is essential to ensuring institutions can prevent, detect, and respond to threats in a timely and effective manner.”
The Ministry will continue supporting training, knowledge transfer, and partnerships to build technical expertise and operational readiness. He said gmCSIRT remains a key operational pillar in advancing national cyber security, in line with The Gambia’s National Cyber Security Policy 2022–2026.
