Now reading: Data privacy in Africa: Regulation and reality

Digital Transformation & Data


Cenfri contributes to building the fundamentals of welfare-enhancing digital economies. We prioritise digital transformation that is inclusive, sustainable, opportunity-creating and has appropriate safeguards. Digital transformation underpins much of our work and ranges from payments digitalisation to digital economy diagnostics, and digital skills assessments to direct digitalisation support.

Cenfri also collaborates with policymakers and other public and private sector stakeholders in data-driven decision-making that is calibrated to the data available and is designed to strengthen the existing skills and data governance processes within these organisations. The Rwanda Economy Digitalisation Programme is our flagship evidence-informed policymaking and data-for-decisions intervention, but we have considerable experience in using evidence to generate insights and inform policymaking and business decision-making with a view to improved economic development outcomes. Our expertise in data, payments and digital identity enables us to contribute to current DPI (digital public infrastructure) conversations.

Digital Transformation & Data

Data privacy in Africa: Regulation and reality

Ridwaan Boda and Era Gunning of ENSafrica answer questions about data privacy, data sharing and what related regulations mean for financial service providers in Africa.  Do you think it is likely that the commencement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union (EU) will: Result in any African countries

Read More »
ustomer due diligence and know-your-customer for Covid19 recovery
Digital Transformation & Data

Smart business intelligence: MYAccounts case study

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) play a key role in economic development, but they face challenges in accessing finance. In Uganda alone (as in most other sub-Saharan African countries), MSMEs account for approximately 90% of private-sector production, over 80% of manufactured output and 18% of GDP contribution (National Small Business Survey of Uganda, 2015; Ministry of Trade,

Read More »
Digital Transformation & Data

Digitising the existing value chain presents new fintech opportunities

Johan Bosini, Quona Capital Venture Partner (Cape Town) shares his excitement about fintech developments and the associated data revolution in Africa. Which sources of data and analytics methods hold the most promise in extending financial services to the underserved in Africa?  I think there are two broad opportunities – one

Read More »
Tech savvy and digital skills
Digital Transformation & Data

Reporting research results using confidence intervals

This note introduces a tool and approach to assist financial inclusion users in better understanding, interpreting and using their data. Adoption of this tool will enable the entire financial inclusion community to produce better research. This will increase credibility among users, as well as onlookers. Financial inclusion users often have to choose between the

Read More »
Digital Transformation & Data

Bots provide insight into customer needs

insight2impact (i2i) is exploring how data can be used by financial service providers to create client value and enhance firm value simultaneously. Pieter Vorster, Chief Data Officer for Barclays Africa Group, shares his insights with us. This topic will be further explored during the invitation-only roundtable discussion that i2i will be

Read More »
Digital Transformation & Data

“Finbiosis” is the future of digital financial services

Lito Villanueva, Managing Director and CEO of Philippines digital financial solutions provider, FINTQ, shares his views on collaboration to further the goal of financial inclusion and the company’s new micro deposits offer.  FINTQ has been successful in forming partnerships with banks. What lessons have you learnt about creating viable partnerships and

Read More »
remittances
Digital Transformation & Data

The gap between intention and action in financial decision-making

Prof. Hal Hershfield shares some insights on how trade-offs between the present and a future state affect the financial decisions that people make. i2i has a specific interest in financial decision-making. What are the links between behavioural science and individual behaviour when it comes to the take-up and usage of financial services?

Read More »
Digital Transformation & Data

Optimising the analytical power of GIS data

Webinar #4. The aim is to extend the conversation from the previous webinar which was focused on spatial data collection sustainability to the analytical power of spatial data overlaid with other data sources to inform decision-making. insight2impact (i2ifacility) was funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. The programme was established and

Read More »
Digital Transformation & Data

Rwanda DataHack4Fi

Datahacks4Fi Presentations Rwanda. insight2impact (i2ifacility) was funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. The programme was established and driven by Cenfri and Finmark Trust.

Read More »
Digital Transformation & Data

What you need to know about mobile survey panels

In my time as a demand-side researcher, I’ve often been labelled as a highly technical researcher. This identification of me as technical comes largely from my ease and comfort in working with data and the many kinds of software that you can use to understand it, but it also comes

Read More »
Digital Transformation & Data

Data privacy in Africa: Regulation and reality

Ridwaan Boda and Era Gunning of ENSafrica answer questions about data privacy, data sharing and what related regulations mean for financial service providers in Africa.  Do you think it is likely that the commencement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union (EU) will: Result in any African countries

ustomer due diligence and know-your-customer for Covid19 recovery
Digital Transformation & Data

Smart business intelligence: MYAccounts case study

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) play a key role in economic development, but they face challenges in accessing finance. In Uganda alone (as in most other sub-Saharan African countries), MSMEs account for approximately 90% of private-sector production, over 80% of manufactured output and 18% of GDP contribution (National Small Business Survey of Uganda, 2015; Ministry of Trade,

Digital Transformation & Data

Digitising the existing value chain presents new fintech opportunities

Johan Bosini, Quona Capital Venture Partner (Cape Town) shares his excitement about fintech developments and the associated data revolution in Africa. Which sources of data and analytics methods hold the most promise in extending financial services to the underserved in Africa?  I think there are two broad opportunities – one

Tech savvy and digital skills
Digital Transformation & Data

Reporting research results using confidence intervals

This note introduces a tool and approach to assist financial inclusion users in better understanding, interpreting and using their data. Adoption of this tool will enable the entire financial inclusion community to produce better research. This will increase credibility among users, as well as onlookers. Financial inclusion users often have to choose between the

Digital Transformation & Data

Bots provide insight into customer needs

insight2impact (i2i) is exploring how data can be used by financial service providers to create client value and enhance firm value simultaneously. Pieter Vorster, Chief Data Officer for Barclays Africa Group, shares his insights with us. This topic will be further explored during the invitation-only roundtable discussion that i2i will be

Digital Transformation & Data

“Finbiosis” is the future of digital financial services

Lito Villanueva, Managing Director and CEO of Philippines digital financial solutions provider, FINTQ, shares his views on collaboration to further the goal of financial inclusion and the company’s new micro deposits offer.  FINTQ has been successful in forming partnerships with banks. What lessons have you learnt about creating viable partnerships and

remittances
Digital Transformation & Data

The gap between intention and action in financial decision-making

Prof. Hal Hershfield shares some insights on how trade-offs between the present and a future state affect the financial decisions that people make. i2i has a specific interest in financial decision-making. What are the links between behavioural science and individual behaviour when it comes to the take-up and usage of financial services?

Digital Transformation & Data

Optimising the analytical power of GIS data

Webinar #4. The aim is to extend the conversation from the previous webinar which was focused on spatial data collection sustainability to the analytical power of spatial data overlaid with other data sources to inform decision-making. insight2impact (i2ifacility) was funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. The programme was established and

Digital Transformation & Data

Rwanda DataHack4Fi

Datahacks4Fi Presentations Rwanda. insight2impact (i2ifacility) was funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. The programme was established and driven by Cenfri and Finmark Trust.

Digital Transformation & Data

What you need to know about mobile survey panels

In my time as a demand-side researcher, I’ve often been labelled as a highly technical researcher. This identification of me as technical comes largely from my ease and comfort in working with data and the many kinds of software that you can use to understand it, but it also comes