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.
Data is a powerful enabler of innovation: It helps financial service providers (FSPs) to better understand and serve consumers, as well as improve how they manage their own risks and business models. Data can also bestow market power. Key market players, such as large banks can wield the extensive client
A scoping study of five African countries Access to basic services –education, energy, health – is an important socio-economic development goal and directly relevant to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet, socio-economic challenges, infrastructure concerns and fiscal constraints still undermine many developing countries’ attempts to provide quality services
In our previous article, Can digital platforms transform first mile food logistics in Africa?, we discussed the importance of the agricultural sector to food security, income and employment in Africa as well as some of the challenges the sector faces in efficiently coordinating. We also introduced the role digital logistics platforms can potentially play in improving
New and proposed financial regulations, such as South Africa’s Pension Funds Amendment Bill, often make headline news because of their wide-reaching and often controversial impact. Financial regulations such as these underpin the financial system and have direct implications for consumers and how they engage with financial services. Whether the focus
Can digital platforms transform first mile food logistics in Africa? The agricultural sector is responsible for food security and is a major contributor to livelihoods across the globe, but particularly in Africa. The supply chains within the sector are vital to ensuring this contribution but they face severe fragmentation and efficiency challenges. Other industries, including logistics, have been disrupted by digital platforms and we want to explore how logistics platforms could improve the efficiency
How can data and data-driven technologies impact financial inclusion efforts in Africa? As the region with the most unbanked and underserved citizens, combined with a growing mobile penetration rate and emerging digital identity (DigiID) systems — sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) could prove fertile ground for beneficial data-driven technologies that facilitate digital
On-demand transport services and insurtech Whether as a customer or a business, digital platforms that connect people and services are ubiquitous today. The adoption of technology in food logistics has presented the opportunity to transform agricultural and food systems with tools that are cheaper and quicker to implement. App-based logistics and transport systems have
The Mastercard Foundation has set an objective to enable 30 million young Africans, especially women, to secure employment that they see as dignified and fulfilling by 2030. In Senegal, MCF aims to create dignified and fulfilling work for 3 million young people over the coming decade. This study aimed to understand the
Recommendations to support digital start-ups Cenfri supported Digital Financial in producing a technical guide on the creation of a fund to support a digital start-up ecosystem in Ethiopia. This work was commissioned by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) of Ethiopia in partnership with Digital Pathways at University of Oxford and
In 2020, the Africa Fintech Network (AFN), in partnership with findexable and Cenfri, launched the Africa Fintech Radar project. This ongoing initiative strives to showcase and track fintechs operating in Africa through a live listing. The Radar provides critical information to understand the challenges, opportunities and levers for fintech
Data is a powerful enabler of innovation: It helps financial service providers (FSPs) to better understand and serve consumers, as well as improve how they manage their own risks and business models. Data can also bestow market power. Key market players, such as large banks can wield the extensive client
A scoping study of five African countries Access to basic services –education, energy, health – is an important socio-economic development goal and directly relevant to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Yet, socio-economic challenges, infrastructure concerns and fiscal constraints still undermine many developing countries’ attempts to provide quality services
In our previous article, Can digital platforms transform first mile food logistics in Africa?, we discussed the importance of the agricultural sector to food security, income and employment in Africa as well as some of the challenges the sector faces in efficiently coordinating. We also introduced the role digital logistics platforms can potentially play in improving
New and proposed financial regulations, such as South Africa’s Pension Funds Amendment Bill, often make headline news because of their wide-reaching and often controversial impact. Financial regulations such as these underpin the financial system and have direct implications for consumers and how they engage with financial services. Whether the focus
Can digital platforms transform first mile food logistics in Africa? The agricultural sector is responsible for food security and is a major contributor to livelihoods across the globe, but particularly in Africa. The supply chains within the sector are vital to ensuring this contribution but they face severe fragmentation and efficiency challenges. Other industries, including logistics, have been disrupted by digital platforms and we want to explore how logistics platforms could improve the efficiency
How can data and data-driven technologies impact financial inclusion efforts in Africa? As the region with the most unbanked and underserved citizens, combined with a growing mobile penetration rate and emerging digital identity (DigiID) systems — sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) could prove fertile ground for beneficial data-driven technologies that facilitate digital
On-demand transport services and insurtech Whether as a customer or a business, digital platforms that connect people and services are ubiquitous today. The adoption of technology in food logistics has presented the opportunity to transform agricultural and food systems with tools that are cheaper and quicker to implement. App-based logistics and transport systems have
The Mastercard Foundation has set an objective to enable 30 million young Africans, especially women, to secure employment that they see as dignified and fulfilling by 2030. In Senegal, MCF aims to create dignified and fulfilling work for 3 million young people over the coming decade. This study aimed to understand the
Recommendations to support digital start-ups Cenfri supported Digital Financial in producing a technical guide on the creation of a fund to support a digital start-up ecosystem in Ethiopia. This work was commissioned by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) of Ethiopia in partnership with Digital Pathways at University of Oxford and
In 2020, the Africa Fintech Network (AFN), in partnership with findexable and Cenfri, launched the Africa Fintech Radar project. This ongoing initiative strives to showcase and track fintechs operating in Africa through a live listing. The Radar provides critical information to understand the challenges, opportunities and levers for fintech
