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
FinTecHub and Cenfri are pleased to announce the signing of their new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This MoU underlines the shared interest of FinTecHub and Cenfri in developing and strengthening African fintech, and Rwandan fintech in particular. FinTecHub is Rwanda’s dedicated virtual accelerator that supports selected Rwandan fintech start-ups to
COVID-19 is leaving no country unaffected. For the development community and national policymakers, this creates a clear imperative: Wield whatever tools will be most effective to provide immediate relief and, more importantly, support longer-term adaptation to break the downward spiral. But this is easier said than done in sub-Saharan Africa
Central banks across the developed and developing world have begun considering the possibility of implementing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to enhance drivers for economic growth and financial sector development such as financial inclusion, digital financial services and national payment system (NPS) efficiency. CBDC is a digital representation of
In 2019, one in five youth in Africa were not in employment, education or training [1]. Each year, 10 to 12 million youth enter the workforce [2], while only 3 million formal jobs are created. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and a deterioration in African growth prospects is expected
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and one of the largest e-hailing markets in Africa. By the end of 2020, the country’s digital ride-hailing or e-hailing market is expected to generate USD292 million in revenue and account for 15% of the African continent’s 48.6 million e-hailing user base. Uber’s entry
App usage in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa data signals digitalisation of Africa’s economic exchanges Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa are leading digital app markets in Africa. The relatively high levels of app usage across these markets are driven by expanded smartphone penetration, as well as higher levels of access
We recently spoke to the country manager for Bolt in South Africa, Gareth Taylor. Bolt is a digital platform that provides ride-hailing and scooter-sharing services, and it has more than 25 million users in over 30 countries[1]. Gareth has a long history in social entrepreneurship, having previously worked as the
Why visible and proactive policy leadership matters more than ever for insurance in the wake of COVID-19 As we discussed in our first blog in this series, our deep dive studies[1] across four Sub-Saharan Africa countries show that insurance matters for sustainable development and growth on three fronts: by building
We set out to understand the dynamics and factors enabling the three top innovation ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa: Cape Town, Nairobi and Lagos. With a growing number of tech start-ups, hubs, accelerators and investors, Lagos has put itself on the map as an important innovation ecosystem in Africa. Through our
