Policymakers, regulators and supervisors in emerging markets are under pressure to develop, implement and enforce policy and regulation that conforms to global best practice but is effective locally despite considerable constraints. Cenfri leverages the legal background, policymaking and regulatory experience of key team members and assists via direct regulatory development or policy guidance but more often through technical assistance and skills building.
Much of our work has been in the financial sector across Africa, Asia and Latin America. This includes an impressive “regulating for innovation” portfolio in support of financial sector regulators who are grappling with innovation or market development mandates in regulatory environments that do not effectively accommodate the range of risks presented by new financial service innovations. We also support improved digital and data governance in Africa. Examples range from creating a set of scenarios on the possible digital futures in Africa, to developing a data-sharing policy for the Government of Rwanda and researching fit-for-context open finance solutions for Africa.
The shortage of data science skills is a major challenge for Africa. With relatively few local educational institutions offering dedicated data science degrees, the small contingent of existing Africa-based data scientists tend to have varied backgrounds – and they often acquire their data science skills by piecing together a range
Nearly US$3 billion has been generated through agribusiness in Africa, touching the lives of over 33 million users of digital solutions in this space. Digitisation in agribusiness has the potential to unlock greater value for sustainable livelihoods on the continent, especially those of women farmers, who often fall behind in
The problem of illicit financial flows is recognised in the SDGs yet little progress has been made in combatting them Illicit financial flows (IFFs) are typically understood as “dirty money” crossing borders. The term covers a number of different cross-jurisdictional crimes including money laundering (ML), bribery, corruption, resource smuggling, human
Digitalisation is disrupting markets and economic structures globally, and even advanced economies do not have a clear view of the new economy and the rules that will govern it. While it is clear that we’re going through a period of disruption and change, it’s not yet clear which of the disrupters will
Does this situation sound familiar? A development program runs its course, generating lots of intriguing insights and impacts – and experiencing its fair share of setbacks. These successes and failures could provide useful guidance to other initiatives. But once the program is over and the funders and implementers have moved
In recent years the platform economy has rapidly transformed various economic sectors such as hospitality, ecommerce and transportation. One of the most important subsectors of the platform economy is e-hailing. E-hailing platforms connect passengers and drivers of cars, taxis or any other form of transportation using virtual devices such as
This focus note aims to equip regulators with a decision framework that illustrates the available tools required to regulate for innovation. Why is it necessary to regulate for innovation? Digital innovation is changing the nature of financial markets. Innovation can create opportunities, enhance efficiencies, increase competition, drive scale, and improve
What could Africa look like in 2048? The digital revolution is gaining ground across Africa. Ambitions around an increasingly digital and connected Africa, underscored by accelerated digitalisation in response to COVID-19 and technological change, have profound implications for life on the continent. These scenarios for Africa’s digital future aim to
Exploring Africa’s digital-platform economy and financial services The digital-platform economy and its potentially disruptive qualities have been a source of excitement and anxiety globally. In the African context, this debate has taken place largely in the absence of information on the size and nature of platform players. This focus note
Insights from an expert workshop on the potential of African digital platforms to influence development African digital platforms are giving rise to new financial needs; creating and bridging barriers to financial and economic inclusion; and revolutionising the informal economic activities of merchants and individuals. These platforms can have both positive
The shortage of data science skills is a major challenge for Africa. With relatively few local educational institutions offering dedicated data science degrees, the small contingent of existing Africa-based data scientists tend to have varied backgrounds – and they often acquire their data science skills by piecing together a range
Nearly US$3 billion has been generated through agribusiness in Africa, touching the lives of over 33 million users of digital solutions in this space. Digitisation in agribusiness has the potential to unlock greater value for sustainable livelihoods on the continent, especially those of women farmers, who often fall behind in
The problem of illicit financial flows is recognised in the SDGs yet little progress has been made in combatting them Illicit financial flows (IFFs) are typically understood as “dirty money” crossing borders. The term covers a number of different cross-jurisdictional crimes including money laundering (ML), bribery, corruption, resource smuggling, human
Digitalisation is disrupting markets and economic structures globally, and even advanced economies do not have a clear view of the new economy and the rules that will govern it. While it is clear that we’re going through a period of disruption and change, it’s not yet clear which of the disrupters will
Does this situation sound familiar? A development program runs its course, generating lots of intriguing insights and impacts – and experiencing its fair share of setbacks. These successes and failures could provide useful guidance to other initiatives. But once the program is over and the funders and implementers have moved
In recent years the platform economy has rapidly transformed various economic sectors such as hospitality, ecommerce and transportation. One of the most important subsectors of the platform economy is e-hailing. E-hailing platforms connect passengers and drivers of cars, taxis or any other form of transportation using virtual devices such as
This focus note aims to equip regulators with a decision framework that illustrates the available tools required to regulate for innovation. Why is it necessary to regulate for innovation? Digital innovation is changing the nature of financial markets. Innovation can create opportunities, enhance efficiencies, increase competition, drive scale, and improve
What could Africa look like in 2048? The digital revolution is gaining ground across Africa. Ambitions around an increasingly digital and connected Africa, underscored by accelerated digitalisation in response to COVID-19 and technological change, have profound implications for life on the continent. These scenarios for Africa’s digital future aim to
Exploring Africa’s digital-platform economy and financial services The digital-platform economy and its potentially disruptive qualities have been a source of excitement and anxiety globally. In the African context, this debate has taken place largely in the absence of information on the size and nature of platform players. This focus note
Insights from an expert workshop on the potential of African digital platforms to influence development African digital platforms are giving rise to new financial needs; creating and bridging barriers to financial and economic inclusion; and revolutionising the informal economic activities of merchants and individuals. These platforms can have both positive
