This framework uses the Ghanaian asanka (earthenware bowl) and tapoli (wooden pestle) to simplify digital transformation. It distills the process into three interconnected components, culminating in “Grinding for Success.
The Foundation: The Asanka (Mindset) Concept: The asanka represents the organisation’s mindset. Asanka is the collective beliefs, attitudes, and readiness for change.
Analogy: A “cracked or shallow asanka” reflects a rigid, fear-driven culture that stifles innovation. A “sturdy, deep-ridged asanka” embodies a growth-oriented mindset that embraces experimentation and learning.
Impact: A resistant mindset undermines even the best digital tools, while an adaptive one enables transformation.
The Guiding Force: The Ridges (Values & Principles)
Concept: The ridges within the asanka symbolise the organisation’s values and principles, including customer-centricity, transparency, collaboration, and agility.
Analogy: Ridges provide the friction needed for effective grinding, just as values steer digital initiatives toward meaningful outcomes.
Impact: Clear values align technology with strategy, ensuring responsible use (e.g., ethical data practices in analytics). Without them, tools become fragmented and ineffective.
The Instruments of Change: The Tapoli (Digital Tools & Processes)
Concept: The tapoli represents digital tools and processes, including cloud computing, AI, agile methodologies, and optimised workflows.
Analogy: The tapoli transforms raw ingredients into a meal, just as digital tools automate tasks, deliver insights, enhance customer experiences, and boost efficiency.
Impact: Tools must be wielded purposefully within a supportive framework. Even the most advanced tapoli is ineffective without a strong mindset and guiding values.
Grinding for Success: The Synergy
Concept: Digital transformation succeeds when mindset (sturdy asanka), values (effective ridges), and tools (efficient tapoli) work in harmony.
Analogy: Introducing cutting-edge AI (a sophisticated tapoli) into a risk-averse culture (a cracked asanka) with unclear values leads to failure. A strong mindset and values without robust tools struggle to turn vision into reality.
Key Takeaway: Digital transformation is an ongoing journey. Organisations must assess their mindset (asanka), refine their values (ridges), and invest in powerful tools (tapoli) to foster agility, align strategy, and amplify impact.
Greetings, esteemed guests, colleagues, and digital trailblazers.
It’s a privilege to address you on a topic that shapes our present and defines our future: building a safe, informed, and accountable digital world.
We live in an era where the digital realm is as vital as the physical one. Our children learn online, our economies thrive online, our governments serve online, and our identities are increasingly digital. This interconnected world offers boundless possibilities, but it also harbours risks that threaten trust, security, and the foundations of our societies. How do we harness this digital revolution while safeguarding its promise? The answer lies in weaving cybersecurity into agile practices—creating a dynamic, collaborative, and resilient digital ecosystem. Let’s explore this through three pillars: safety, awareness, and accountability.
Safe: Security as a Collective Mission In the past, cybersecurity was a fortress—rigid, isolated, and reactive. Today’s agile world demands safety that is fluid, proactive, and shared. Picture a sprint team: developers, testers, product owners, and delivery managers all collaborate toward a goal. Cybersecurity requires the same unity—it’s everyone’s responsibility, from the C-suite to the classroom.
Example: In 2024, Kenya’s National Computer Incident Response Team (KE-CIRT) collaborated with private sector partners, including Safaricom and Microsoft, to combat a surge in ransomware attacks targeting financial and healthcare sectors. By integrating real-time threat intelligence into agile workflows and sharing mitigation strategies across organisations, KE-CIRT reduced ransomware incidents by approximately 35% within six months, strengthening Kenya’s digital resilience (African Leadership Magazine, 2024).
How to make it happen: Embrace secure-by-design principles. Build security into every feature, not as a final checklist.
Hold cybersecurity retrospectives after each sprint to reflect on risks, learn from mistakes, and improve.
Foster a “see something, say something” culture where every employee feels empowered to act.
Safety is a team sport. When we all take ownership, we don’t just protect systems—we safeguard lives.
Informed: Empowering Through Knowledge Agile thrives on shared knowledge and transparency. In cybersecurity, an informed user is our greatest asset, while an uninformed one is our biggest liability. Awareness isn’t about compliance—it’s about empowerment.
Example: In 2023, Nigeria’s CyberSecurity Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN) launched the “CyberSafe Kids” initiative in Lagos schools, using gamified learning modules and agile-inspired workshops to teach students and teachers about phishing, password security, and safe online practices. Through interactive simulations and collaborative problem-solving sprints, the program reduced reported phishing incidents in participating schools by 40% within six months, empowering a new generation of cyber-aware citizens (CyberSecurity Experts Association of Nigeria, 2023).
How to make it happen: Replace annual compliance lectures with bite-sized, hands-on learning modules. Use daily stand-ups to share quick, actionable cyber tips—like spotting phishing emails or securing passwords.
Build communities of practice where knowledge flows freely, not siloed in IT departments. An informed digital community doesn’t just react to threats—it anticipates and neutralises them together.
Accountable: Building Trust Through Transparency In agile, teams own their outcomes. In the digital world, accountability means traceability, integrity, and trust. When users know who’s handling their data and why, confidence grows.
Example: Estonia’s e-governance system, built on the X-Road platform, exemplifies accountability. Every citizen can access a transparent log of who has viewed their data, fostering trust. As a result, 99% of Estonia’s government services are digital, with citizen trust remaining high (e-Estonia, 2023).
How to make it happen: Apply agile’s visible backlog principle to cybersecurity. Make risks, actions, and responsibilities clear to all. Use auditable systems that log every action, leaving a clear trail. Cultivate accountable leadership—leaders who champion security, not just delegate it. Accountability isn’t a burden; it’s the bridge between innovation and trust. With it, technology transforms lives. Without it, technology falters.
The Call to Action Friends, building a safe, informed, and accountable digital world is not a finish line—it’s a journey, one sprint at a time. To leaders: Embed security in your vision, not just your compliance checklist. To teams: Treat cybersecurity like technical debt—tackle it early, or it will cost you dearly. To every individual: Stay curious, stay vigilant, and know that your actions shape our shared digital future.
The digital world we craft today is the legacy we leave for tomorrow’s generations. Let’s build a space where trust thrives—a space that is safe, informed, and accountable. Because cybersecurity isn’t just about protecting systems—it’s about protecting people, communities, and the hope of a better future.
Thank you.
References: E-Estonia. (2023). X-Road: The backbone of e-Estonia. Retrieved from https://e-estonia.com/solutions/x-road/ CyberSecurity Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN). (2023). CyberSafe Kids Initiative: Empowering the Next Generation with Cybersecurity Awareness. Retrieved from https://www.csean.org.ng/cybersafe-kids-initiative-report-2023/ African Leadership Magazine. (2024). Strengthening Africa’s Cyberspace: Collaborative Efforts in Cybersecurity. Retrieved from https://www.africanleadershipmagazine.co.uk/strengthening-africas-cyberspace-collaborative-efforts-in-cybersecurity/
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A two-year national service obligation in the Ghana Armed Forces will be a strategic measure to accelerate national development. It will promote national security, character development, skill development, unity, infrastructure growth, career opportunities, and patriotism.
Security: Address security threats and cultural shifts
Skills Gap and Unemployment: a more practical method for deploying trade training, as well as abundant opportunities to practise and use skills.
Character Development and Discipline: reduce the sense of entitlement and mediocrity
Infrastructure Development: Let’s take a cue from the Field Engineers constructing rural roads.
National Unity and Social Cohesion: A Means of Mending the discord caused by Politicians.
Patriotism and Civic Responsibility: Our defining characteristics are FREEDOM & JUSTICE in poor condition.
I will name this strategy “Obrumankoma (NAVY), Odapagyan (Air Force / Space), and Oson (ARMY) growth.”
This service opportunity can be fulfilled on a part-time or full-time basis for two years under the supervision of the Armed Forces Reserves.
