Digital Jewels Africa and the Africa Fintech Network recently hosted a webinar focused on simplifying fintech regulatory compliance in Africa. The event, titled “Navigate and Comply with Regulations with Ease through International Standards and Industry Frameworks,” brought together industry leaders to share insights on fostering transparency and accountability.
The session featured prominent figures like Mitchell Elegbe, CEO of Interswitch Group, and Ali Hussein Kassim, Chairman of the Association of Fintechs in Kenya. Digital Jewels CEO, Adedoyin Odunfa, emphasized the importance of the collaboration in addressing fintech regulatory challenges, advocating for international standards to ease compliance for fintechs.
Tokunbo Taiwo, Group Executive Director and CTO of Digital Jewels, highlighted fintech’s rapid growth in Africa, noting the key role compliance plays in sustaining that growth. He stressed the importance of global frameworks like ISO 27001 and PCI-DSS for creating unified regulatory systems.
In his fireside chat, Elegbe reflected on Interswitch’s journey, underscoring the importance of early compliance and strong governance in the company’s rise.
“Back in 2002, we faced significant challenges in gaining trust as a payment company in Nigeria. It was critical for us to be ahead of the curve with compliance and governance to build trust with both customers and regulators. That decision ultimately saved us and allowed us to grow into what we are today,” Elegbe remarked. He also appreciated Digital Jewels for helping Interswitch adopt global best practice standards, which significantly improved their operational efficiency and security.
Kassim spoke about the need for Kenya and East Africa to adopt global best practices and predicted that real-time compliance technologies will drive future regulatory shifts. “The most interesting tech engagement and evolution will be the meshing of regtech and subtech so that we don’t have these humongous reporting structures every month to policy makers and regulators. It can be real time,” Kassim posited.
Odunfa concluded by urging fintechs to be proactive about compliance to stay competitive and avoid regulatory pitfalls. A follow-up session focusing on East Africa’s fintech regulations is scheduled for next week.
