In 2023, more than 1/5 of cyberattacks persisted for over a month, the annual Kaspersky Incident Response 2023 report has revealed, with trusted relationships emerging as one of the main attack vectors in these prolonged cases.

The report draws on the results of Kaspersky’s cyberattack investigations throughout the year, gathered when supporting organisations sought incident response assistance or when hosting expert events for their internal incident response teams.

Primary reasons of organisations approaching Kaspersky Incident Response team with service requests were encrypted files (32.8% of requests), suspicious activities (31%), data leakage (20%), and also included non-authorised accesses (3%), service unavailability (3%) and money theft (1.6%).

Among initial attack vectors of the investigated incidents were exploiting public facing application (42.4%), compromised accounts and BruteForce attacks (28.8% in total), trusted relationships (6.78%), phishing (5%), insider’s activity (3.4%).

Kaspersky Incident Response 2023 report indicates that long-lasting cyberattacks that persist for more than a month constituted 21.85% of the total, increasing from 2022 by 5.55%.

One notable trend observed in these attacks was the exploitation of trusted relationships as a primary vector. Compromises leveraging trusted relationships have occurred previously, but in 2023 their frequency increased.

As this method of attack enables threat actors to infiltrate multiple victims through a single compromised organisation, investigative teams face several additional challenges. Firstly, initially targeted organisations don’t always recognise the importance of thorough investigations and may be reluctant to cooperate.

Secondly, attacks initiated through trusted relationships often require more time to progress from the initial intrusion to the final incursion phase. Therefore 50% of these attacks lasted more than a month. A similar proportion of attacks exceeding one month were exclusively registered within the insider and phishing vectors.

“Our latest findings underscore the critical role of trust in cyberattacks. In 2023 and for the first time in recent years, attacks through trusted relationships were among the three most used vectors. Half of these incidents were discovered only after a data leak had been found.

“By exploiting trusted relationships, threat actors can prolong attacks and infiltrate networks for extended periods, posing significant risks to organisations. It’s imperative for businesses to remain vigilant and prioritise security measures to safeguard against such sophisticated tactics,” comments Konstantin Sapronov, Head of Global Emergency Response Team at Kaspersky.

Omniretail, a B2B enablement platform focusing on digital infrastructure in Sub-Saharan Africa, is proud to announce it has secured the top position in the Financial Times (FT) ranking of Africa’s Fastest-Growing Companies for 2024.

The ranking, now in its third year, continues to highlight the dynamism and growth of companies in sectors including fintech, renewable energy, healthcare, e-commerce, and agriculture.

The FT presents Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies list comprising innovative, modern, companies growing at scale, that are the driving force of the international economy in the 21st century.

The Financial Times partners with Statista, to produce similar rankings for companies in Europe, Asia, and America. The inclusion of OmniRetail as part of this prestigious list is a testament to its success and exceptional performance.

Similar to the ranking for other markets, the Africa list places companies by their compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue between 2019 and 2022. OmniRetail has grown by 772.39% over these 3 years, making it Africa’s fastest-growing company in 2024.

Launched in 2019, OmniBiz is the flagship product of OmniRetail, a distribution platform that digitises the supply chain from distributors to retailers by embracing a retailer-first, asset-light approach.

OmniBiz enables retailers to place orders directly from manufacturers. These orders are fulfilled by partner distributors, who specialise in warehousing, while transportation responsibilities are delegated to third-party logistics providers, ensuring delivery to retailers within 24 hours.

OmniRetail is building a collaborative platform that includes other innovative tools like OmniPay and Mplify, which equips retailers with essential resources and tools to procure products, build and access credit, and optimise their business for higher profitability and scale. With over 140,000 small retailers and over 200 brands onboarded, OmniRetail aims to redefine the retail industry in Africa.

Deepankar Rustagi, CEO of OmniRetail, said, “We’re proud to enter the FT Africa’s fastest-growing list for the first time and even more so to be at the top of the list.

This is a tribute to the hard work and perseverance of everyone at OmniRetail. Africa deserves a robust digital infrastructure layered on top of the existing informal retail sector, and we’re proud of the progress we’ve made so far.

We are equally proud of our work towards empowering and supporting more retailers previously excluded by the financial ecosystem and those experiencing cash flow issues to enhance their supply chain processes.

Through OmniRetail, we help retailers grow through our integrated digital infrastructure providing access to essential goods and capital. We will continue to improve infrastructure for efficient product distribution, envisioning more product variety and efficient distribution to even more remote areas.

As a company, we are on a journey to completely eliminate the inefficiencies of traditional trade by digitising the key stakeholders across the value chain”.

OmniRetail’s business model revolves around the OmniBiz platform, which digitises the supply chain, while OmniPay processes over $50 million in transactions.

This emphasises high-margin product categories and offers structured rebates and incentives.  To optimise delivery van loads, OmniRetail uses an algorithm and operates with a robust model that includes decentralised warehousing.

At least 78% of OmniRetail’s retailers and distributors are women, reflecting robust financial inclusion by providing access to banking services, working capital, and genuine digitisation.

The company works with more than 4800 distributor partners and 1100 committed vehicles and compensates partners based on delivered value. OmniRetail recently achieved profitability, boasting gross margins of 9% and net contribution margins of 5% as of January 2024, with a registered retailer base of 144,000.

Maad, Francophone Africa’s fastest-growing tech & logistics platform for informal retailers, today announced the successful completion of its $3.2 million seed funding round (debt & equity).

The round was led by Ventures Platform, with participation from Seedstars International Ventures, Reflect Ventures, OuiCapital, Launch Africa, Voltron Capital & Alumni Ventures. Proparco and local banks participated in the debt financing.

Maad is a tech & logistics platform that directly connects suppliers and small retailers of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Their tech-driven solution allows retailers to order products from a one-stop shop, with reliable delivery, competitive prices while benefiting from working capital loans.

Maad leverages this distribution infrastructure to offer additional high-value services to brands: data, software, and services for advertising, distribution, and market understanding.

Maad is on a mission to transform the retail landscape in Francophone Africa, where 80% to 95% of consumption still takes place in informal mom-and-pop shops. “Among startups operating in this space, Maad benefits from a clear first-mover advantage in Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa.

“We often say this is a blue ocean. As the fastest-growing player in the region, we are well-positioned to maintain our leadership and continue driving transformation in this underserved market,” said Sidy Niang, Co-founder & CEO of Maad.

The company currently operates in Senegal and has already achieved significant milestones, including partnering with more than 80 suppliers, offering a catalog of over 1,000 SKUs of household brands, and reaching a monthly GMV of $3 million, while operating near breakeven. Maad plans to use the funds to further expand across & dominate the Senegalese market, introduce financial services such as Buy Now, Pay Later through a digital wallet, and launch in a second country in Francophone Africa.

Maad’s founding team brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the table. Jessica Long, Co-founder & COO, focused on Operations Excellence & Technology, was the 15th employee at Airbnb and has been living in Senegal for over 7 years, designing digital distribution systems nationwide.

Sidy Niang, is focused on Growth, Hiring & Fundraising, has over 4 years of experience in private equity and infrastructure investments with the IFC (International Finance Corporation) and previously co-founded a food delivery company.

“Small retailers are central to neighborhood life and to Senegal’s economy. Maad builds scalable digital technology and core logistics infrastructure so that these retailers can make everyday-need products consistently available to people who make less than $5 a day,” added Jessica Long.

She continues, “Maad’s strength lies in its technology. We have built a fully in-house ERP, for order, delivery & warehouse management that fits perfectly with our operations, allowing us to operate more efficiently at every single step of the logistics chain. We also collect data points on product & retailers, which we process and use to make insights available to suppliers so that they can make better decisions”

“Maad’s innovative approach to digitizing the informal retail sector in Francophone Africa has the potential to create a significant impact on the lives of small business owners and consumers,” said Dotun Oloworopoku, Managing Partner at Ventures Platform. “We are thrilled to lead this investment round and support the Maad team as they work towards building a more efficient and inclusive retail ecosystem in the region.”

Charlie Graham-Brown, Seedstars International Ventures Partner shared, “What sets Maad apart is their ability to navigate the complexities of the informal retail sector while maintaining a sustainable business model.

“Their focus on profitability and efficient use of capital, combined with their first-mover advantage in a largely untapped market, makes them an attractive investment opportunity. We believe that Maad has the potential to drive significant economic impact and create lasting positive change in the lives of retailers and consumers across the region.”

Maad’s unique positioning, sustainable business model, and ability to secure funding during a challenging climate for B2B e-commerce startups demonstrate the company’s potential to drive significant transformation across Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa’s retail landscape.