By Prof. Francis Wambalaba

The Global Business School Network (GBSN) and the SWIFT Institute awarded the Case Writing Small Grant to a team from the Chandaria School of Business, USIU-Africa, led by Prof. Francis Wambalaba as the PI and Dr. Paula Musuva from the School of Science and Technology as the Co-PI. The team won all the highly competitive three case studies that were advertised.

Other research team members included Ms. Judy Ouma, Technical University of Kenya and adjunct faculty, Chandaria School of Business. Mr. William Makatian, CEO of Serianu Limited and Chair of the Kenya Honeynet Project, Ms. Brencil Kaimba, senior cybersecurity consultant at Serianu Ltd and Dr. Nicos Koussis, Assistant Professor of Finance at Frederick University and Head of the Business Department. The project partnered with Kenya Bankers Association represented by Mr. Fidelis Muia and with its CEO, Dr. Habil Olaka, a USIU-Africa alumnus as the protagonist in the teaching case study.

In 2018, losses from cyberattacks were predicted to top $1.6 trillion and could reach as high as $6 trillion by 2021. The threat of cybersecurity raises several questions for financial institutions and how they interact with each other, in particular for those based in emerging economies. Hence the need to examine ways in which these financial institutions minimize this risk, and provide a way to share best practices that these institutions use to mitigate the aforementioned risks.

The three case studies leveraged relationships within the industry to address the cybersecurity risk challenges in the region. The case studies provide deeper insights into the African cyber risk management practices, specifically in the financial services sector.
Case 1: Comparative Cyber Security Risk Minimization Best Practices: African Experiences
Case 2: Cyber Security Risks and National Policy Implications: East African Experiences
Case 3: Options for Kenyan Banks Cyber Security Risk Management: Kenyan Experience

Both primary and secondary data were collected for both quantitative and qualitative analysis including descriptive analysis, trend analysis, and correlation analysis. Key activities included,

• Review of pertinent literature inclusive of models and theories;
• Development of information collection instruments/interview questions;
• Collection of information from respondents and documents;
• Analysis of information inclusive of conclusions and recommendations;
• Writing of the draft report shared with respondents for reviews and feedback;
• Request for use of copyrighted materials; and
• Submission of the report.

The report generated is suitable for multi-audiences including practitioners, policymakers and academicians/researchers. The research cases will be distributed by the SWIFT Institute, while the teaching case will be available for instructional purposes.

For more information, go to:

1. About the Case Writing Project https://gbsn.org/case-writing-small-grant-competition
2. Also: https://gbsn.org/cybersecurityinthedevelopingworld
3. SWIFT/GBSN Video : https://globalbusinessschoolnetwork.app.box.com/s/fmxqficfs1kbi2i46chkqeppvjwne2ps/file/846903859287
4. Webinar https://www.bigmarker.com/serianu-ltd1/GBSN-SWIFT-CASE-WRITING-RESEARCH-PROJECT