The CcHUB Cybersecurity academy fellowship officially began on November 8, 2021. This fellowship is one of CcHUBs efforts to refine talents for the cybersecurity workforce in Africa. The goal is to hatch professionals ready to innovate and develop impactful solutions for the business world either as technical founders or cybersecurity professionals, help them with the required hands-on experience while learning from professionals in the industry and support them in starting their own cybersecurity companies. 

For this cohort, we received over 2000 applications from Nigeria and Kenya, and it is interesting to see the number of people who are interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity. 

We currently have 31 fellows across Nigeria and Kenya who are learning different tracks of cybersecurity. These tracks are:

• Threat intelligence: Here the fellows are taught what threat intelligence entails and how to prepare and identify cyber threats. 
• Cloud Security:  For this track, the fellows are learning about how data stored online via cloud computing platforms can be protected from theft, leakage, and deletion, among others. This essentially entails putting mechanisms in place to help protect systems and data.
• Vulnerability and penetration testing:  In this track, the fellows are learning about identifying security vulnerabilities in network and application, and how to test for vulnerabilities amongst others. This will help organizations to discover weaknesses in systems and applications and reduce the possibility for intruders/hackers to get unauthorized access of systems 

In addition, the fellows will be learning about personal branding/ communication and the startup ecosystem where they will be taught about how they can differentiate their unique abilities from others and differentiate their unique abilities from others and how they can communicate their values to employer or potential employer amongst others.

Meet some of the 2021 Cybersecurity Academy Fellows

Jamez Boro  – Kenya

James Boro is a cyber security professional with a passion for delivering proactive information security initiatives and strategies for day-to-day operational challenges. He has ample experience in using tools and programs geared toward digital security. 

Desmond Echofu – Nigeria

Desmond is looking forward to using CcHUB as a springboard in his cybersecurity career as he is passionate and excited about the cyber security world.

Ahmed Jimoh – Nigeria 

Ahmed is an IT support technician who has a passion for cybersecurity. He likes to make computers work the way they should, and he is always looking for new ways to improve his skill set in order to protect information and systems. 

Badmus Anuoluwapo – Nigeria

Badmus Anuoluwapo is a Cybersecurity Enthusiast particularly interested in Cloud Security and Penetration Testing. He is hoping the program will help him understand better the Cybersecurity landscape in Nigeria by introducing him to mentors who have built successful careers in the field.

Aisha M. Bello – Nigeria

Aisha is a Gender Based Violence advocacy expert, a writer/author and a humanitarian. She is currently a Masters student of Criminal Justice System, she holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Crime Management and also Bachelor’s Degree in Microbiology. She hopes to bridge the gender gap in Cyber Security and will love to become an expert on Threat intelligence. 

Abdul Ayankoso – Nigeria

Abdul is an Information Systems Auditor with special interests in Information Security, Data Privacy, and IT Risk Control. He is hoping to have a better understanding of cloud computing technology while gaining hands-on skills to help organizations develop their cloud security program and also advance his career by transitioning to cloud security from his current IT Analyst role.

Michael Sunday – Nigeria

Michael is hoping to gain from the academy, quality hands-on experience, in-depth exposure to the cybersecurity space and build a robust professional network.

Stephen Mutinda – Kenya

Stephen is interested in pursuing a cloud security career and he believes this program will be a great steppingstone. He hopes to grow his skills, make great connections and secure an internship that could lead to a job.

Ian Milimu – Kenya

Ian is a software engineering graduate from the Multimedia University of Kenya. He is hoping to leverage this program to interact with professionals from different cybersecurity fields, learn from their experiences and build meaningful professional relationships. 

Joanna Owiti – Kenya

Joanna is a security professional with years of experience in security, forensic training and risk management actively pivoting into Cybersecurity. Her interest is in Blue Team, specifically Threat hunting & malware analysis and ultimately, she is working towards becoming a great Reverse Engineer. She would also like to gain some mentorship from a professional who will help her navigate the cybersecurity space. She also hopes to gain access to organizations with hopes of being recruited into their cybersecurity team, where she can use the skills learnt during the fellowship. 

Laurine Owino – Kenya

Laurine Owino is an upcoming Cyber security practitioner with a background in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Ultimately, she hopes to combine both her fields of interest into one. She hopes to build networks, expand and be confident in her skill set while finding a sense of direction.

Chineze Obiorah – Nigeria

Chineze has a BSc in Computer Science and an MBA in Entrepreneurship. She has worked in the banking sector for 9 years in non-IT roles. She is currently charting a new course for herself in IT, specifically in Cybersecurity and Cloud Computing. She is a certified AWS cloud practitioner. Her hope for the program is to garner more knowledge and skills that will give her an edge in landing cybersecurity roles. 

Ayoola Fadeni – Nigeria

Ayoola would simply like to be able to implement all that has been learnt into use by protecting people and systems. 

Joy Simiyu – Kenya

Joy hopes to gain hands-on skills that are relevant to the market needs of cybersecurity professionals and thereafter advance her knowledge and skill set. Her goal is to learn as much as she can and offer it back to the community with technology and its power being the starting point.

Otuekong Ekpo – Nigeria

Otuekong is a result-driven and visionary information security engineer with extensive knowledge and success in areas such as digital forensics, application security, incident response, network security, and project management, among others, ensuring value delivery and risk reduction. He is a Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth scholar studying Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. He is also a professional member of the Cybersecurity Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN). He is looking forward to a great and enriching experience in cloud security. 

Abiodun Ajibola – Nigeria

Abioun hopes to develop useful hand-ons skills in cybersecurity especially in areas of web and network pentesting. He also looks forward to building a network of competent and trusted pentesters from the program.