Building AI and Cybersecurity Capacity in Tanzania
As part of the Digital for Tanzania (D4T) Twinning project, a five-day training on Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Personal Data Protection and Emerging Technologies took place in Dar es Salaam from 27 to 31 July 2026. The training was delivered jointly by experts from Finland, Estonia and Germany, reflecting the project’s multi-country partnership model.
Five days, four themes
Day 1 – Foundations of cyber and digital security: risk management, business continuity and preparedness, the CIA-A model (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability, Authenticity), and information security by design.
Day 2 – Emerging technologies and AI: an overview of AI, space technologies, 6G, quantum computing, automation and robotics, followed by sessions on regulation and standards (ISO/IEC 27001, 27002, 27005; NIST Cybersecurity Framework; CIS Controls) and how governed data underpins trustworthy AI.
Day 3 – Data protection and AI in practice: the anatomy of a data breach, responsible AI by design, and the foundational principles of data protection, including a session using the Data Ethics Decision Aid (DEDA) tool.
Day 4 – Technical and legal perspectives: how AI systems and large language models work, data flows and knowledge processing (including Retrieval-Augmented Generation and Model Context Protocol), and the tensions between AI use and core data protection principles such as purpose limitation and data minimisation.
Day 5 – Risks, rights and practical AI deployment: the EU AI Act and risk-based regulation, cross-border data transfers, and a practical case study of an AI chatbot deployment (Hamburg Data Protection Authority’s ”LLMoin”).
Throughout the week, participants worked through practical exercises, including mapping emerging-technology opportunities and risks for their own organisations, assessing an AI use case for scholarship or job-application ranking, and reviewing data flows in a public-sector AI chatbot scenario. Each day closed with a short feedback round via Mentimeter, allowing the training team to adjust the following day’s emphasis.
This training builds directly on the project’s earlier work strand on data governance, data management, personal data protection and cyber security preparedness, delivered in Dar es Salaam in May 2026, and complements the project’s parallel work on digital innovation and agile governance, delivered in June 2026. Together, these training modules support the Government of Tanzania’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) and ICT-Commission in building durable, in-house expertise across the data and cyber security domains covered by the project.
Read more about the training in Tanzanian news: https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/news/national/tanzania-boosts-digital-skills-through-eu-backed-ai-and-cyber-security-training-5540940
Fact box: Digital for Tanzania (D4T) Twinning Project
Objective
To contribute to Tanzania’s digital transformation by supporting e-Government reform and connectivity, with specific objectives to:
future-proof the cyber security, privacy and data protection framework, capacities and skills of the Government of Tanzania and the private sector;
enhance the interoperability framework and Government of Tanzania’s capacity for data governance and management, enabling an inclusive, transparent and effective data-driven public sector;
improve the skills and capacity of the private sector and research community — including addressing the gender digital divide — in cyber security, privacy and data protection.
Partners
Main partner (lead), Finland: HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management Ltd.
Junior partner, Estonia: Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV)
Junior partner, Germany: Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport and Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
Implementing period: 14 July 2023 – 31 December 2026
Project budget: €2,000,000
Contracting party: Delegation of the European Union to the United Republic of Tanzania and the East African Community
Beneficiary organisation: Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT), Tanzania
Instrument: Twinning, a Government-to-Government (G2G) expertise cooperation instrument, delivering analysis and recommendations, train-the-trainer workshops, and study visits to Estonia, Finland and Germany. The project’s Rolling Work Plan is updated every six months to remain responsive to the beneficiary’s needs. All short-term experts are public sector employees in their home countries.
