The smarter use of data plays a role in all aspects of economic inclusion. Innovative and cost-effective ways to collect, store and analyse data can improve strategic decision-making and enable more client-centric and inclusive product design.
Increasing access and lowering the cost of up-to-date, high-quality traditional and alternative data and can unlock a range of insights to solve challenges.
These developments can enable financial service providers, policymakers and impact investors to optimise the impact of their work through the use of data.
Our work connects decision-makers with the data they need by building on, and showcasing, the existing knowledge base of financial inclusion data and collaborating with a wide range of partners.
Marissa Dean of Caribou Digital (and i2i Advisory Panel member) talks to us about data and digital development in the financial sector. Your report Can Big Data Shape Financial Services in East Africa suggests that (for the credit market at any rate), many alternative datasets have limited value in extending financial inclusion. Could you explain
Prof Bitange Ndemo, renowned ICT champion, shares some thoughts on data, blockchain, innovation and entrepreneurship. You have written about the dangers of data colonisation – especially in Africa. What do you think is preventing Africans from benefiting from the application of the data that is being collected? I’m going to
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
DataHack4FI Innovation Award Season 2: Winner of the Women and Youth focus prize for Rwanda In Rwanda, as elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, rotating credit and savings associations (ROSCAs) and savings groups are a big part of people’s financial lives – especially for women. With just under 1 million individuals making
InvestXD created a digital investment platform for women and youth Understanding drivers of usage for financial products and services is important for (long-term) savings, as few youth and young adults save, and even fewer do so through formal financial services institutions. There is also a significant gender gap, as is
ZedCredit from Zambia provides access to savings, loans and a credit score via their mobile app. ZedCredit is a fintech based in Zambia that participated in the DataHack4FI Innovation competition, Season 2. ZedCredit was conceptualised and founded in 2015 by Tundwa Siyubo, a business graduate from Zambia’s National Institute of Public Administration. It was registered in
DataHack4FI in-country winners from Ghana offer a multiple-database-verification API solution to identity verification. A lack of verifiable identification presents a significant barrier to individuals’ access to financial services. According to Findex 2017, 20% of financially excluded individuals mention a lack of identification as the main reason. In sub-Saharan Africa specifically,
Exploring how transactional-data-driven network analysis can allow financial service providers increase the value they provide to customers Traditional banks serve a diverse set of customers that may include entities such as schools, churches, agricultural cooperatives, small enterprises, SACCOs, farmers, households and individuals (to name a few). Each of these customer segments engage in
We spoke to Billy Owino, CEO of TransUnion Kenya, about the organisation’s strategy of analysing multiple sources of data to better understand consumers and their financial lives. Tell us about TransUnion’s transition from a credit information bureau to a risk information service and its role as an aggregator of data? Globally,
Do FSPs in Africa use data to drive their decisions? While several global surveys have been conducted to determine the extent to which business executives are using data and analytics to drive decision-making (or the success they have in doing so), typically, hardly any executives from African businesses are surveyed.
Marissa Dean of Caribou Digital (and i2i Advisory Panel member) talks to us about data and digital development in the financial sector. Your report Can Big Data Shape Financial Services in East Africa suggests that (for the credit market at any rate), many alternative datasets have limited value in extending financial inclusion. Could you explain
Prof Bitange Ndemo, renowned ICT champion, shares some thoughts on data, blockchain, innovation and entrepreneurship. You have written about the dangers of data colonisation – especially in Africa. What do you think is preventing Africans from benefiting from the application of the data that is being collected? I’m going to
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
DataHack4FI Innovation Award Season 2: Winner of the Women and Youth focus prize for Rwanda In Rwanda, as elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, rotating credit and savings associations (ROSCAs) and savings groups are a big part of people’s financial lives – especially for women. With just under 1 million individuals making
InvestXD created a digital investment platform for women and youth Understanding drivers of usage for financial products and services is important for (long-term) savings, as few youth and young adults save, and even fewer do so through formal financial services institutions. There is also a significant gender gap, as is
ZedCredit from Zambia provides access to savings, loans and a credit score via their mobile app. ZedCredit is a fintech based in Zambia that participated in the DataHack4FI Innovation competition, Season 2. ZedCredit was conceptualised and founded in 2015 by Tundwa Siyubo, a business graduate from Zambia’s National Institute of Public Administration. It was registered in
DataHack4FI in-country winners from Ghana offer a multiple-database-verification API solution to identity verification. A lack of verifiable identification presents a significant barrier to individuals’ access to financial services. According to Findex 2017, 20% of financially excluded individuals mention a lack of identification as the main reason. In sub-Saharan Africa specifically,
Exploring how transactional-data-driven network analysis can allow financial service providers increase the value they provide to customers Traditional banks serve a diverse set of customers that may include entities such as schools, churches, agricultural cooperatives, small enterprises, SACCOs, farmers, households and individuals (to name a few). Each of these customer segments engage in
We spoke to Billy Owino, CEO of TransUnion Kenya, about the organisation’s strategy of analysing multiple sources of data to better understand consumers and their financial lives. Tell us about TransUnion’s transition from a credit information bureau to a risk information service and its role as an aggregator of data? Globally,
Do FSPs in Africa use data to drive their decisions? While several global surveys have been conducted to determine the extent to which business executives are using data and analytics to drive decision-making (or the success they have in doing so), typically, hardly any executives from African businesses are surveyed.
