โDale and I had many conversations about the challenges with regards to cybersecurity in Southern Africa,โ Stephen Osler, Co-founder and Business Development Director, Nclose. โIt was never the matter of lack of passionate people, it was a lack of formal and informal educational facilities with a focus on cybersecurity and providing opportunities to enter this industry. Another key factor was promoting digital enablement, and Dale was already working with informal educational facilities, but the idea was to take it to the next level and get students into the workforce. I introduced Dale to Anna Collard (Know Be4) a long-standing partner of Nclose, and through two passionate creatives with the right connections, the MiDO cyber-academy was bornโ adds Osler.
Nclose firmly believes in the MiDO Academy team’s capabilities and their shared vision to make this educational initiative a resounding success. The Foundation’s experienced professionals, who are experts, passionate and dedicated about cybersecurity education, will go on to foster the next generation cyber professionals from academy to workplace. Their holistic approach aligns perfectly with Nclose’s commitment to raising awareness about cybersecurity from an early age.
โNclose actively helps by providing funds, transport for students and sponsoring masterclasses focused on cybersecurity. However, what we really love is itโs not just about educating students on just cybersecurity skills, but also how to use those skills to engage with businesses and elements within their own business they join โ prepping them not just with cybersecurity skills, but also the soft skills to be a valued member in the workplace. The fundamental focus is to empower youth to enter the workforce, and this where the team at MiDO Academy shineโ says Osler.
โStephen and Martin are early supporters of the MiDO vision and NClose have been invested in my development as aย leader, while ensuring MiDO has the required resources. This support has empowered MiDO to boldly pursue sustainability and impactโ Dale Simons, Co-founder Managing Director of MiDO.
โWith the MiDO Academy and its Cyberlab we have the opportunity to create learning pathways out of poverty for marginalised youth. Security threats are not only affecting enterprise organisations but have a devastating effect on individuals and small medium businesses. Our purpose is to enable resilient, cyber safe citizens, to be the strongest defence against cybercrime.โ
About Nclose Nclose is a leading cybersecurity company specialising in providing innovative solutions to protect organisations from advanced cyber threats. With a team of 100+ experienced professionals and cutting-edge in-house technology, Nclose offers comprehensive and niche cybersecurity solutions, implementation, and support to elevate your cybersecurity posture.
About MiDO: The MiDO Academy will create pathways out of poverty and create meaningful employment opportunities for young people. MiDO Academy is a blended learning academy that leverages Quest (MiDO Techโs products) in delivering digital enablement through facilitated sessions towards Digital Citizenship. Over the past 9 years MiDO has worked extensively with organisations to help integrate technology into schools in order to impact communities at large. This process has included training young people in digital skills and also employ them within the technology industry; to date MiDO has trained over 50 young people and employed 30 in the form of Teachers Training Assistants (TTA) and Hub coordinators.