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.
In 2019, one in five youth in Africa were not in employment, education or training [1]. Each year, 10 to 12 million youth enter the workforce [2], while only 3 million formal jobs are created. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and a deterioration in African growth prospects is expected
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and one of the largest e-hailing markets in Africa. By the end of 2020, the country’s digital ride-hailing or e-hailing market is expected to generate USD292 million in revenue and account for 15% of the African continent’s 48.6 million e-hailing user base. Uber’s entry
App usage in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa data signals digitalisation of Africa’s economic exchanges Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa are leading digital app markets in Africa. The relatively high levels of app usage across these markets are driven by expanded smartphone penetration, as well as higher levels of access
We recently spoke to the country manager for Bolt in South Africa, Gareth Taylor. Bolt is a digital platform that provides ride-hailing and scooter-sharing services, and it has more than 25 million users in over 30 countries[1]. Gareth has a long history in social entrepreneurship, having previously worked as the
Why visible and proactive policy leadership matters more than ever for insurance in the wake of COVID-19 As we discussed in our first blog in this series, our deep dive studies[1] across four Sub-Saharan Africa countries show that insurance matters for sustainable development and growth on three fronts: by building
We set out to understand the dynamics and factors enabling the three top innovation ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa: Cape Town, Nairobi and Lagos. With a growing number of tech start-ups, hubs, accelerators and investors, Lagos has put itself on the map as an important innovation ecosystem in Africa. Through our
Payment facilities underpin scaling of Africa’s digital platforms. Digital platforms, also known as multi-sided marketplaces, are seamlessly matching customers to suppliers of goods and services in e-commerce and other emerging industries, thereby creating new pathways for individuals to participate in the digital economy. At the heart of the rapid rise
At the beginning of this year, we set out to understand what makes innovation ecosystems tick. We wanted to uncover the factors that might turn a city into an engine room for tech innovation and commercialisation, by using a systems mapping approach to make sense of Africa’s top innovation cities:
Webinar: Livelihoods of workers on e-hailing platforms The sustainability of e-hailing platforms is coming under question, and as Africa grapples with the COVID-19 crisis, platform margins have come under immense pressure. Some e-hailing platforms have responded by rapidly readjusting their offering, leveraging their last-mile delivery networks to pivot into logistics
The construction sector – which accounts for 4.5% of GDP in sub-Saharan Africa – forms a critical component of economies, but it faces significant challenges related to shortages of skilled labour, low technology adoption, and payment disputes. Partly supported by digital platforms, digitisation and associated data infrastructure support contractors and
In 2019, one in five youth in Africa were not in employment, education or training [1]. Each year, 10 to 12 million youth enter the workforce [2], while only 3 million formal jobs are created. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and a deterioration in African growth prospects is expected
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and one of the largest e-hailing markets in Africa. By the end of 2020, the country’s digital ride-hailing or e-hailing market is expected to generate USD292 million in revenue and account for 15% of the African continent’s 48.6 million e-hailing user base. Uber’s entry
App usage in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa data signals digitalisation of Africa’s economic exchanges Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa are leading digital app markets in Africa. The relatively high levels of app usage across these markets are driven by expanded smartphone penetration, as well as higher levels of access
We recently spoke to the country manager for Bolt in South Africa, Gareth Taylor. Bolt is a digital platform that provides ride-hailing and scooter-sharing services, and it has more than 25 million users in over 30 countries[1]. Gareth has a long history in social entrepreneurship, having previously worked as the
Why visible and proactive policy leadership matters more than ever for insurance in the wake of COVID-19 As we discussed in our first blog in this series, our deep dive studies[1] across four Sub-Saharan Africa countries show that insurance matters for sustainable development and growth on three fronts: by building
We set out to understand the dynamics and factors enabling the three top innovation ecosystems in sub-Saharan Africa: Cape Town, Nairobi and Lagos. With a growing number of tech start-ups, hubs, accelerators and investors, Lagos has put itself on the map as an important innovation ecosystem in Africa. Through our
Payment facilities underpin scaling of Africa’s digital platforms. Digital platforms, also known as multi-sided marketplaces, are seamlessly matching customers to suppliers of goods and services in e-commerce and other emerging industries, thereby creating new pathways for individuals to participate in the digital economy. At the heart of the rapid rise
At the beginning of this year, we set out to understand what makes innovation ecosystems tick. We wanted to uncover the factors that might turn a city into an engine room for tech innovation and commercialisation, by using a systems mapping approach to make sense of Africa’s top innovation cities:
Webinar: Livelihoods of workers on e-hailing platforms The sustainability of e-hailing platforms is coming under question, and as Africa grapples with the COVID-19 crisis, platform margins have come under immense pressure. Some e-hailing platforms have responded by rapidly readjusting their offering, leveraging their last-mile delivery networks to pivot into logistics
The construction sector – which accounts for 4.5% of GDP in sub-Saharan Africa – forms a critical component of economies, but it faces significant challenges related to shortages of skilled labour, low technology adoption, and payment disputes. Partly supported by digital platforms, digitisation and associated data infrastructure support contractors and
