Training Course on Operational Resilience, Business Continuity & Cybersecurity for Central Banks

In an increasingly digital and interconnected financial ecosystem, operational resilience has become a cornerstone of modern central banking. With growing cyber threats, systemic shocks, and disruptions—whether from pandemics, natural disasters, or geopolitical events—central banks must safeguard their critical functions and maintain financial stability. This comprehensive course equips central bank professionals with the frameworks, tools, and strategies to strengthen institutional resilience, ensure business continuity, and manage cyber and operational risks effectively.

Participants will explore global best practices, regulatory expectations, and emerging technologies that shape resilience planning in financial infrastructures. The training integrates real-world central bank case studies from Africa, Europe, and Asia, focusing on lessons learned and forward-looking resilience strategies relevant to developing economies.

Participants who successfully complete the course will receive Certificate of Participation.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

1. Develop and implement operational resilience frameworks tailored to central bank environments.
2. Design and execute business continuity and disaster recovery plans for critical financial operations.
3. Strengthen cybersecurity governance and build robust incident response systems.
4. Assess risks in payment systems, clearing, and settlement infrastructures.
5. Enhance coordination among internal departments and external financial institutions during crises.
6. Understand global regulatory expectations (e.g., BIS, FSB, IMF, CPMI-IOSCO).
7. Integrate technology solutions for monitoring, analytics, and predictive resilience.

Duration

5 Days

Target Audience

• Central bank department heads and senior managers
• Business continuity and operational risk officers
• IT, cybersecurity, and payment systems specialists
• Financial stability and policy analysts
• Supervisory and regulatory officials
• Crisis management and internal audit professionals

Course Modules

Module 1: Foundations of Operational Resilience in Central Banking

• Concept and regulatory definitions of operational resilience
• Relationship between resilience, risk management, and financial stability
• Lessons from global financial disruptions and crisis events
• Role of leadership and governance in resilience building

Module 2: Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning

• Frameworks for business continuity planning (BCP) in central banks
• Developing business impact analyses (BIAs)
• Building redundancy and fallback systems for mission-critical functions
• Crisis communication strategies and stakeholder management
• Testing and updating continuity plans

Module 3: Cybersecurity and Digital Resilience

• Threat landscape for central banks and financial market infrastructures
• Cyber governance and policy frameworks
• Developing cyber incident response and recovery capabilities
• Security-by-design and data protection in central banking systems
• Managing third-party and vendor cyber risks
• Collaboration with national cybersecurity agencies

Module 4: Payment Systems and Infrastructure Resilience

• Ensuring resilience in RTGS, ACH, and cross-border systems
• Interdependencies between payment, settlement, and clearing systems
• Business continuity for central bank digital infrastructures (CBDCs, fintech integrations)
• Contingency arrangements for market disruptions

Module 5: Crisis Management, Stress Testing & Scenario Planning

• Designing and executing operational resilience stress tests
• Conducting tabletop exercises and crisis simulations
• Integrating resilience metrics into central bank performance frameworks
• Cross-institutional coordination during systemic shocks

Module 6: Emerging Technologies & Future of Operational Resilience

• Leveraging AI, big data, and SupTech for proactive risk management
• Cloud infrastructure security and resilience considerations
• Real-time monitoring and predictive analytics
• Building a culture of resilience and continuous improvement

Module 7: Case Studies & Best Practices

• Case studies from leading central banks (Bank of England, South African Reserve Bank, ECB)
• African regional approaches to resilience and cybersecurity
• Lessons from major financial cyber incidents
• Developing institutional resilience roadmaps

General Notes

• The instructor led trainings are delivered using a blended learning approach and comprises of presentations, guided sessions of practical exercise, web-based tutorials and group work. Our facilitators are seasoned industry experts with years of experience, working as professional and trainers in these fields.
• The participants should be reasonably proficient in English as all facilitation and course materials will be offered in English.
• Upon successful completion of this training, participants will be issued with a certificate.
• The training will be held at Kincaid Training Centre. The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments and lunch.
• All participants will additionally cater for their, travel expenses, visa application, insurance, and other personal expenses.
• Accommodation and airport pickup are arranged upon request. For reservations contact the Training coordinator at Email: training@kincaiddevelopmentcenter.org or Tel: +254 724592901
• This training can also be customized to suit the needs of your institution upon request. You can have it delivered in our Kincaid Training Centre or at a convenient location.

For further inquiries, please contact us on Tel: +254 724592901 or send mail to training@kincaiddevelopmentcenter.org

Payments are due upon registration. Payment should be sent to our Bank account before commencement of training and proof of payment sent to training@kincaiddevelopmentcenter.org