General News
How to Build More Connected & Inclusive Cities
By Carlos Menendez,
Carlos Menendez is president, Enterprise Partnerships, for Mastercard. In this role, Mr. Menendez is responsible for expanding the company’s operations globally with partnerships in the Smart Cities, Retail, Travel and Banking space. In this piece, he looks at ways to build more connected and inclusive cities.
When thinking about the cities of the future, I know that they will be more connected, and I strongly believe that they must be more inclusive.
We can’t have the Internet of Everything without the Inclusion of Everyone. Already today, a growing number of cities are using smart technologies to better connect people to places and to each other – and more importantly also connecting people to opportunities for better and safer lives.
Unfortunately, what still causes a significant amount of friction in our cities and prevents inclusive growth is the dominance of cash. In fact, close to 85 percent of all consumer payments in the world are still done with cash or checks.
This means that far too many people are trapped by default in an informal economy. They lack the financial services to guard themselves against risk, save for themselves, plan for their children’s futures, and build better lives.
Two years ago, Mastercard set a global goal to bring 500 million people into the financial mainstream by 2020. And we’re well on our way to doing that.
In just a few short years, we have helped connect more than 300 million people through partnerships with banks, governments, retailers, and NGOs.
We’re also working with our partners to enable and grow 40 million small merchants and micro-entrepreneurs because it’s not just individuals that are too often trapped in a cash economy – stores lose billions of dollars every year to leakage and theft.
Success Factors For Future Interconnected and Inclusive Cities
It’s no secret that the world is becoming more urban. The UN estimates that within the next generation, the number of people living in cities will jump from 50 percent today to almost 70 percent.
Already today, cities are grappling with the challenges that come with their growth. Congestion, pollution, and poverty are features of many of the world’s major cities, and it will take a collaborative effort by the public and private sector to meet these challenges.
We have seen progress, and there are some common themes around how we can leverage technologies and partnerships to move toward more connected, more inclusive cities.
Transforming Public Transportation
The key approach is to tackle those sectors in our cities that have high levels of everyday cash usage, and one of these areas is mass transit.
About 65 percent of all urban transportation is still paid in cash, which adds up in significant operational costs to transport providers and puts drivers and passengers at risk of getting robbed.
In over 100 cities around the globe (including London, Singapore, Bogota and New York), Mastercard users are paying their train or bus fare simply by tapping their card or swiping their phone.
Only a couple of weeks ago, Sydney became the first city in Australia to introduce contactless payments for public transport – no more queuing in front of tickets booths, topping up cards, or fumbling for cash.
In London, already 40 percent of daily pay-as-you-go journeys on the city’s underground, buses, and commuter rails are paid by contactless cards/phones – which has dropped Transport for London’s cost of selling tickets from 14 to 9 percent of the fare and has saved them over 100 million pounds in cash related costs.
Once payments are digitized, data insights help city governments better understand and connect with their citizens. In Chicago for example, UI LABS, is bringing technology and transportation providers together to find ways to better balance transit supply and demand across a city.
When people use their cards for public transport, this can help form a habit of paying electronically in shops and stores as well which can be a critical factor for enabling broader financial inclusion.
For instance, those living in a cash economy face significant risks when it comes to putting away money for savings. This lack of savings then makes it challenging for people to access lower priced weekly or monthly tickets, instead of more expensive daily tickets.
This is why a few weeks ago, the Government of Mexico City announced its plans to launch a debit card that can be used for both transit payments as well as every day purchases, and potentially social disbursements.
Empowering Small and Micro Businesses
Another critical angle to building more inclusive cities is to focus on the role of small businesses and how to connect them to electronic commerce.
In most parts of the world, small businesses account for well over 90 percent of all enterprises. However, small and micro entrepreneurs have historically been underserved when it comes to their ability to accept electronic payments. For a small market vendor, bigger tickets and additional sales from someone using their card instead of cash are important steps on the economic ladder, which are typically followed by better access to credit.
There are various ways to address this. One is by turning a seller’s mobile phone into a payment terminal. Masterpass QR, which is already available in eight countries in Africa and Asia, is a new electronic payment option that lets customers pay for goods and services from their mobile phones by scanning a QR code displayed at a store’s checkout.
In Kenya, Mastercard is partnering with Unilever to simplify the way smaller stores order and pay for their goods with a wholesaler.
Today, this is a very cash intensive process. Digitizing this process will give small entrepreneurs better access to funds, facilitate inventory ordering and management, and provide better sales insights about their business.
Partnering with Governments
Like businesses and individuals, governments make and receive payments. And many governments around the world choose electronic methods for things like procurement, social benefit payments, or tax collection. Electronic payments are not only more efficient and more transparent, they’re also a great way to lead by example.
At Mastercard, we have partnered with over 60 governments globally to deliver more than 1,600 scalable cashless programs in various cities and communities around the world.
In the Middle East and Africa, we have joined forces with public institutions on solutions that link a government identity with payments and enable people to become financially included on a massive scale. In Egypt, the government plans to extend financial inclusion to over 54 million citizens through a digital National ID program.
But what’s most important for many people, is that this may be the first time they see their name printed on a financial instrument. This gives them a financial identity, and it may give them the first chance to move out of the cash economy into the formal economy.
Technology as the Great Enabler
Simplifying access to public transport, empowering small and micro businesses, promoting cashless programs – what these three areas have in common is that technology works as a great enabler. While the know-how exists to solve many of the world’s most pressing problems, no one can meet these challenges on their own.
It takes partnerships across businesses, governments, NGOs and academia to advance more connected and more inclusive cities – and to build healthier, safer and more prosperous communities.
In affirmation of its global standing, Cybervergent, a Pan-African technology company that leverages artificial intelligence to transform how organisations manage risk, governance, privacy, and cybersecurity, has been selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Technology Pioneers for 2025—a global cohort spotlighting companies transforming industries through breakthrough technologies and responsible innovation.
The WEF, an international organisation committed to improving the state of the world through public-private collaboration, brings together global leaders to shape economic, technological, and societal agendas. Cybervergent now joins this global community.
The company is recognized for its innovative approach to building digital trust, reimagining how organisations manage cybersecurity, risk, privacy and governance.
Commenting on the company’s milestone, Adetokunbo Omotosho, CEO of Cybervergent, said, “I am honoured that Cybervergent has been named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. This is more than an accolade — it’s a validation of our commitment to redefining cybersecurity, privacy, and risk management to build true digital trust.
“What makes this recognition even more meaningful is the fact that Cybervergent demonstrates innovation in AI and infrastructure can emerge from any region, challenging conventional perceptions.”
Some past recipients of the Technology Pioneer recognition, including Google, Spotify, and Airbnb have gone on to fundamentally reshape global industries.
As a member of the 2025 Technology Pioneers community, Cybervergent will be contributing to discussions shaping cybersecurity, AI, and cyber resilience across industries and the global digital economy.
Moove, an African mobility fintech startup, is on a quest to secure a $1.2 billion debt financing round to support the rollout of a fleet of autonomous vehicles.
This is in partnership with Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo in the United States, according to a Bloomberg report citing sources familiar with the matter.
The startup has since attracted backing, including from Uber Technologies Inc., and entered a strategic partnership with Waymo in December 2024 to provide financing for self-driving cars.
Ladi Delano, co-founder of Moove, noted that the company has a solid financial track record.
“Moove has built strong relationships with some of the world’s leading lenders. We have also fully repaid our first-ever debt facilities, which signals our maturity and marks a key milestone that demonstrates the strength of our platform as we enter the next phase of global autonomous-vehicle infrastructure deployment,” he said.
The round is reportedly oversubscribed, with strong participation from private credit firms and banks.
Waymo has also not made any official statement regarding the funding round. While final details are expected to be concluded in the coming weeks, the deal will mark a significant milestone for the firm as it ramps up its global ambitions.
Founded in 2020 by Nigerian entrepreneurs, Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi, Moove began by providing vehicle financing for ride-hailing drivers in Africa’s largest cities.
Kaspersky experts have revealed the inner workings of FunkSec — a ransomware group that illustrates the future of mass cybercrime: AI-powered, multifunctional, highly adaptive and operating on volume with ransoms as low as $10,000 to maximise profits.
Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) constantly monitors the ransomware threat landscape, where attacks continue to rise. According to the company’s latest State of Ransomware report, the share of users affected by ransomware attacks worldwide increased to 0.44% from 2023 to 2024, up by 0.02 percentage points.
While this percentage may appear modest compared to other cyber threats, it reflects the fact that attackers typically prioritise high-value targets rather than mass distribution, making each incident potentially devastating. Within this evolving landscape, FunkSec has emerged as a particularly concerning threat.
Active for less than a year since its emergence in late 2024, FunkSec has quickly surpassed many established actors by targeting government, technology, finance and education sectors. What sets FunkSec apart is its sophisticated technical architecture and AI-assisted development.
The group packages full-scale encryption and aggressive data exfiltration into a single Rust-based executable, capable of disabling over 50 processes on victim machines and equipped with self-cleanup features to evade defenses.
Beyond its core ransomware functionality, FunkSec has expanded its toolkit to include a password generator and a basic DDoS tool — both showing clear signs of code synthesis using large language models (LLMs).
FunkSec’s approach reflects the evolving landscape of mass cybercrime, combining advanced tools and tactics. Kaspersky’s GReAT experts highlight the key features that define their operations:
Password-Controlled functionality
GReAT experts discovered that FunkSec ransomware features a unique password-based mechanism that controls its operation modes. Without a password, the malware performs basic file encryption, while providing a password activates a more aggressive data exfiltration process in addition to encryption to steal sensitive data.
FunkSec packs full-scale encryption, local exfiltration and self-cleanup into a single Rust binary—without a side-loader or a companion script. That level of consolidation is uncommon and gives affiliates a plug-and-play tool they can deploy almost anywhere.
Use of AI in development
Code analysis shows that FunkSec is actively using generative artificial intelligence to create its tools. Many parts of the code seem to be automatically generated rather than manually written. Signs of this generic placeholder comments (such as “placeholder for actual check”) and technical inconsistencies, like commands for different operating systems that don’t align properly. Additionally, the presence of declared but unused functions—such as modules included upfront but never utilised — reflects how large language models combine multiple code snippets without pruning redundant elements.
“More and more, we see cybercriminals leveraging AI to develop malicious tools. Generative AI lowers barriers and accelerates malware creation, enabling cybercriminals to adapt their tactics faster.
By reducing the entry threshold, AI allows even less experienced attackers to quickly develop sophisticated malware at scale,” comments Marc Rivero, Lead Security Researcher at Kaspersky’s GReAT.
High-volume, low-ransom strategy
FunkSec demands unusually low ransom payments, sometimes as little as $10,000, and pairs this with the sale of stolen data at discounted prices to third parties. This strategy appears designed to enable a high volume of attacks, helping the group quickly establish its reputation within the cybercriminal underground. Unlike traditional ransomware groups that seek million-dollar ransoms, FunkSec employs a high-frequency, low-cost model — further underscoring its use of AI to streamline and scale operations.
Expands beyond ransomware
FunkSec has expanded its capabilities beyond the ransomware binary. Its dark leak site (DLS) hosts additional tools, including a Python-based password generator designed to support brute-force and password-spraying attacks, as well as a basic DDoS tool.
Advanced evasion
FunkSec employs advanced evasion techniques to avoid detection and complicate forensic analysis. The ransomware is capable of stopping over 50 processes and services to ensure thorough encryption of targeted files. Additionally, it includes a fallback mechanism to execute certain commands even if the user launching FunkSec lacks sufficient privileges.
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