Digitalisation and Financial Data Governance in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Financial technology companies (FinTechs) have taken to digitalisation both to understand their customers and to use data to design more productive and convenient products. As a result, they are credited with making financial resources increasingly available and affordable. In Africa, millions of people use a vast array of proliferating mobile platforms as transactional interfaces. Although these innovations have improved the ease of financial transactions, they are not without challenges. In this paper, we explore digitalisation and financial governance in Africa. We identify the current state of knowledge and explicate how this understanding has been applied on the continent. Finally, we specify existing knowledge gaps in areas that could form the basis of a future research agenda for practitioners and policymakers.