Policymakers, regulators and supervisors in emerging markets are under pressure to develop, implement and enforce policy and regulation that conforms to global best practice but is effective locally despite considerable constraints. Cenfri leverages the legal background, policymaking and regulatory experience of key team members and assists via direct regulatory development or policy guidance but more often through technical assistance and skills building.
Much of our work has been in the financial sector across Africa, Asia and Latin America. This includes an impressive “regulating for innovation” portfolio in support of financial sector regulators who are grappling with innovation or market development mandates in regulatory environments that do not effectively accommodate the range of risks presented by new financial service innovations. We also support improved digital and data governance in Africa. Examples range from creating a set of scenarios on the possible digital futures in Africa, to developing a data-sharing policy for the Government of Rwanda and researching fit-for-context open finance solutions for Africa.
Innovation can enable insurance to become a powerful engine of growth and development across the continent, but achieving this requires that market players and regulators work together to build an ecosystem in which responsible innovation can thrive. For regulators, doing so means not only understanding the current state of innovation
Nothing illustrates the incredible power of data-driven decision-making more than the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Lamenting the disparities in genomic sequencing data from high versus lower-middle income countries, Professor Happi, from the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases in Nigeria, has talked about the pressure they experienced early
As societies and economies change, so should the financial products that serve them The insight2impact facility in partnership with Research ICT Africa have created this series of infographics to describe their key findings on multi-sided platforms as part of the exploration on the rise of African digital platforms, and the individuals
The role of insurance regulators in dealing with risks relating to consumer data protection and privacy Data innovation is challenging the traditional role of insurance regulators. Two major dilemmas emerge that insurance regulators and indeed all financial sector regulators face when confronted with how to regulate consumer data: They must
A publication for Capital Markets in Africa Digitalisation: Africa’s future “Across Africa, eCommerce platforms flanked by payments, logistics, tourism and big data partners are starting to lift national economies. Technological disruption is transforming markets and societies across Africa in ways that wouldn’t have been possible even five years ago. And
Early findings from our African digital platforms and the future of financial services research An increasingly digital and connected Africa is providing new ways for entrepreneurs and consumers to participate in the economy. To better understand the related opportunities and challenges, the i2i facility has embarked on a journey across
I recently participated in a panel at the IAIS Global Seminar in Moscow where a regulator from the audience asked a very relevant question: Given the scale of technological change in my market, how do I still ensure effective regulation? It is a question we’re increasingly hearing from financial sector regulators and
As societies and economies change, so should the financial products that serve them. Financial products help us manage our lives. They enable us to receive, store and spend money. The banking, mobile money, pensions and credit products we see have been shaped by the historical structure of our economies and
Across industries, businesses are collecting, storing and using increasing amounts of consumer data. This has been made possible by the growth in broadband connectivity, particularly through smartphone penetration, and the increased capacity to collect and share data on individuals. Technological developments in data analytics have increasingly allowed businesses to use
For regulators, the dual implications of innovation make it a critically important but challenging topic to address. Regulators with a mandate to encourage market development and sectoral growth are obliged to encourage innovative providers and products that help to drive this market development and enhance consumer value. However, regulators are
From 2009 to 2015 the proportion of adults, financially excluded from any financial service, decreased from 63% to 41% in Zambia, which exceeded the Zambian Government‘s national target of 50%. More than 14% of these adults now use mobile money services, whilst the largest growth has been in the use
