Cybersecurity In The Digital Transformation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Systematic Review of Frameworks and Challenges In Developing Countries With A Focus On Mozambique

Abstract: While Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets have been adopting advanced digital technology to gain competitiveness and scale, they still face business cybersecurity risks due to limited resources, awareness, and expertise. This paper aims to systematically review the literature covering cybersecurity, conceptual frameworks, and challenges associated with Digital Transformation (DT) faced by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries, with specific emphasis in Mozambique. The established inclusion criteria were papers published between 2014 to 2024, in English and Portuguese, focusing on cybersecurity, cybersecurity framework, Digital Transformation (DT), Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) of any sector, and developing countries with emphasis of Mozambique or similar contexts. Studies related to large enterprises, and research published more than 10 years were excluded. A total of 22 out of 124 research articles, journals, and conferences, were analyzed in detail, according to bibliographic information, different research design, outcomes, and findings. The study used four digital libraries, namely: IEEE Xplore, American Computing Machinery (ACM), Science Direct, SCOPUS, and Google Scholar were used in addition. The quality assessment checklist was used in the included studies to evaluate the methodological rigor and relevance of primary studies. The findings reveal that even as the world becomes more aware of the need for Digital Transformation and cybersecurity, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries continue to be underserved. This review allowed to identify a considerable disparity between the cybersecurity practices applied by SMEs in developing countries and the guidelines provided by international frameworks. The review emphasizes important areas that warrant longitudinal, sector-specific, impact-driven research, policy-oriented studies that can inform scalable, inclusive, and sustainable digital strategies, as well as a dedicated cybersecurity framework appropriate for the Mozambican context. Keywords: - Cybersecurity, cybersecurity risks, cybersecurity framework, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Digital Transformation (DT), developing countries, Mozambique.