Now reading: Private: Herman Smit

Private: Herman Smit


Herman was a Director at Cenfri and the Head of Client Insights for the i2i facility. His current research activities considered the role of behavioural science, alternative data and technology in advancing the benefits of the financial sector to society.

Since joining Cenfri in 2009, Herman’s research has focused on the broader area of financial inclusion and the more specific areas of inclusive insurance, retail payments systems and drivers of women’s financial services usage. His research work in Africa, Latin America and East Asia has centred predominantly on innovation in the delivery of financial services to low-income people. He further led the design and establishment of the i2i facility and co-designed the financial sector assessment tool, Making Access Possible.

Qualifications
  • Master’s degree in behavioural science, London School of Economics, United Kingdom
  • Master’s in economics (specialising in competition and regulation), Tilburg University, Netherlands
  • BCom (Honours) in econometrics, University of Pretoria, South Africa
  • Bachelors in statistics, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Recent Work
Guidance on developing a data and analytics strategy
In today’s data-driven world, many organisations recognise the importance of leveraging data insights to make decisions. However, once they attem...
Unique challenges and opportunities for Earth Observation in Rwanda
When I travelled the windy road from Kigali to the Volcanoes National Park to hike up Mount Bisoke, I spent most of my time looking out the window ...
Case study: Enhancing telecommunications connectivity through data analytics
The Government of Rwanda’s ambitious plan to become a cashless economy by 2024 has seen significant efforts and investments in the cashless a...
Then and now: Is Ethiopia at an inflection point after 15 years of insurance underdevelopment?
Very little has changed in the Ethiopian insurance industry over the last fifteen years but there is a po...
Digitising destinations: a tourist’s journey starts online
COVID-19 turned some of us into virtual voyagers. We spent hours scrolling through posts of p...
Open Finance in Africa: Designing context-appropriate approaches for the financial sector
Open Finance can be defined as the sharing of consumer data between financial service providers (FSPs) and/or third-party providers on the basis of...
Reflections on the policy evolution in Rwanda’s ICT sector
In implementing the ...
Remittances, a vital contributor to the SDGs
Remittances are a valuable lifeline for Africans, with over USD 100 billion flowing into the continent annually from a m...
Impact from the Remittance Access Initiative
KYC and CDD requirements can inhibit access to remittances for low-income, r...
Catalysing the use of data and digital technology for tourism in Ghana
Ghana’s tourism industry presents an exciting landscape for growth, ...
Mutual digital infrastructure could drive formalised, inclusive payments in SADC
Interoperable payment systems improve the efficiency and effectiveness of retail and cross-border payments. Cenfri worked with BankservAfrica on a ...
Public sector data frameworks
If properly catalogued, classif...
An assessment of customer due diligence and identity regulatory frameworks
Innovation opportunities for enhanced remittance access...
Understanding CBDC and its application in emerging markets
Central banks have cited several reasons for considering or piloting central bank digital currencies (CBDC). These inclu...
5 lessons for designing fit-for-purpose health microinsurance
Gakere is a 49-year-old mechanic from Nairobi, and like ...
State of instant and inclusive payment systems in Africa
  Real-time retail payments that enable consumers to send and receive cross-border and domestic transactions digitally are on the rise ...
Revealing the consumer experience of digital finance in low- and middle-income countries
Consumers face several frustrations with the potential to affect their experience of digital financial services. These include system glitches, ina...
Insurance regulation and innovation: An assessment of 8 African insurance markets
To support regulatory authorities in sub-Saharan Africa in promoting inclusive insurance market development, there is a ...
Consumer protection in digital finance
The authors of this report would like to acknowledge the support of the International Dialogue on Consumer Protection...
Data insights in achieving retail growth in Rwanda
The retail and trade (merchant) sector is one of the priority sectors for the ...
Enhancing identity verification for refugees in Uganda
In Uganda, refugees and asylum seekers struggle to cash out their remittances due to challenging and time-consuming identity verification processes...
Training improves ability to unlock value from data
Capacity-development is a vital part of the ...
What will it take to build innovative insurance markets in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Despite the best efforts of sub-Saharan African (SSA) insurers, most African citizens ...
Lessons on improving remittance access in Africa
Learnings from the ...
Agriculture an important policy priority for Rwanda
Agriculture plays a major role in the Rwandan economy: close to 75% of the population’s livelihood depends on farming. However, the majority of t...
Cenfri joins the Smart Africa Alliance
Kigali, Monday 29th August 2022  – The ...
Responsive and responsible regulation
The value of non-legally binding guidance Regulation is ...
CBDC for emerging markets: realities and expectations
Cenfri has deepened its work on CBDC amid growing interest from central banks ...
What is data-driven decision making and what does it mean for Rwanda?
Nothing illustrates the incredible power of data-driven decision-making more than the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Lamenting the disparit...
Holistic risk solutions for MSME resilience in Egypt
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Egypt Micro, small and medium-sized ent...
Building a data skills foundation is necessary to achieve meaningful digitalisation
One of the reasons so much emphasis is placed on digitalisation is...
Private sector partnerships for MSME resilience: Learnings from Africa
Opportunities await insurers and tech providers who are willing to work together ...
Insurance Innovation Dialogue
About the Insurance Innovation Dialogue  To support insurance regulatory authorities ...
The role of different partners for effective MSME insurance
Insurers can partner with digital platforms, lenders and insurance aggregators to offer better products that...
Delivering remittances at the last mile
The role of...
Applying a gender lens to trade finance
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are considered engines of economic growth and development, especially in developing ...
Enhancing risk assessment processes for improved remittance access
Early insights from IFAD’s Financing Facility for Remittances and Cenfri Our work wi...
The role of women and finance in climate action
A changing climate affects everyone, but it’s the world’s poorest and most vulnerable, predominantly women and girls, who bear the brunt of env...
Opportunities for remittance-linked insurance products in SSA
A demand-side perspective of the risk management and resilience needs of remittance senders from South Africa to G...
Digitalizing farm to table supply chains in Asia
On-demand transport services and insurtech  Whether as a customer or...
Empowering people to solve problems that matter
How Cenfri makes systemic change happen In helping to build...
The untold realities of women cross-border traders
A diagnostic study on women cross-border traders between South Africa and Lesotho, Malawi and Mozambique​ ...