Over the last two decades, globalisation, an increase in market-based economies, and a decrease in protectionism, has all led to a more level playing field for organisations to compete at an international level.

This means that organisations within developing countries are facing more competition and disruption than ever before. When it comes to the use of data and analytics for business decision-making, many international organisations have matured to the degree where they have turned this business process into an asset, and therefore as a means of competitive advantage. However, data and analytics is not utilised to the same degree across countries, industries and between organisations.  

With an increasingly connected, sophisticated, smarter and user-friendly global information technology (IT) environment, organisations in developing countries are just as exposed to the creative destruction pressures faced by organisations in developed markets. New entrants increasingly leverage information and communications technologies (ICT), coupled with better use of data and analytics, to displace incumbents and reach global audiences of consumers quicker, at greater scale, and offering greater value. The availability of smarter software and methodologies that can be leveraged (or facilitated over the cloud) increases the potential for disruption, including within financial services, and ultimately offers new opportunities for financial inclusion. Some existing organisations are therefore exploring how to catch up. Whether through new start-ups or large existing institutions, data and analytics offer opportunities to reach new clients, enhance customer experience, and serve clients’ needs better. Large established providers have existing client bases, revenue streams and infrastructure that have the potential to reach new clients quicker and at scale. When trying to understand the opportunities that data and analytics offer for financial inclusion, it is therefore also important to understand the internal dynamics within such existing institutions that could lead to greater adoption and utilisation of data and analytics.  

This note forms part of a series that covers components of the use of data and analytics by financial service providers (FSPs) to better understand and serve their clients. The objective of this note (contributing to the overall scoping series objectives) is to explore the drivers and barriers to the introduction, use and development over time, of data and analytics for business decision-making. It also constructs a framework for the evaluation of the level of maturity of organisations utilising data and analytics for decision-making. The latter can be used to inform interactions with these organisations and to pinpoint specific requirements that these institutions may have, based on their level of development.  

insight2impact (i2ifacility) was funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. The programme was established and driven by Cenfri and Finmark Trust.