COVID -19 Crisis in Africa: Leveraging FinTech and RegTech for Economic Recovery

The precise impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on African economies is still unknown, however if the crisis persists, it is likely to have huge economic ramifications on the continent. Financial Technology (FinTech), which has made a positive contribution in Africa can significantly support the recovery process after the crisis but the extent of its contribution will depend on a number of factors

Decentralised Finance: The case for a holistic approach to regulating the crypto industry

Since the launch of bitcoin in 2009, there have been fierce calls for the regulation of cryptocurrencies particularly linked with, amongst other things, their use to facilitate financial crime. One of the mechanisms deemed best to achieve this has been at the point of their intersection with mainstream finance – which is mostly through cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet providers which convert fiat currency to cryptocurrency and vice versa. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation 16 is expected to achieve this, however, this rule is only as strong as its robust implementation globally. The growth of decentralised finance (DeFi) further exacerbates the challenges of regulating the crypto industry, particularly as it is not covered by FATF Recommendation 16

Cross-Border Issues and Regional Integration in Financial Regulation

Cross-border banking services by African banks within Africa have been on the rise since the last decade. As these services are provided predominantly by complex financial institutions and involve operating within a number of African financial systems, effective regulation of such entities can be challenging. The challenges are two-fold: regulating complex financial institutions on a consolidated basis and achieving effective supervisory cooperation between home and host country regulators of these banking entities, which is critical given the cross-border nature of the services they provide. Regulation is particularly significant due to the linkages of all financial systems involved in the operation of cross-border banking services and also the ease and speed with which a crisis can spread from one jurisdiction to another - as the last global financial crisis revealed. This chapter, as such, assesses the legal and regulatory challenges inherent in the delivery of cross-border services by African banks within Africa and proposes solutions for making the operation of such services safer. Section one considers the reasons for the rise of African cross-border banks and their effect on African banking systems. Section two considers the legal and regulatory challenges inherent in their operations. Section three provides a critical appraisal of solutions for the legal and regulatory challenges by assessing the extent to which consolidated supervision, memorandums of understanding and the operation of colleges of supervisors, mitigate these challenges. Section four considers proposals for making cross-border banking services in Africa viable and section 5 concludes

Cryptoassets regulation in Africa: RegTech and SupTech considerations

The growth of Financial Technology (FinTech) and new Payments Products and Services is very welcomed as it brings numerous benefits both to businesses and consumers. These products and services, which include: prepaid cards, e-payments, mobile banking services, internetbased payment services and cryptocurrencies or cryptoassets – as they are referred to today – are associated with a myriad of challenges. Cryptoassets are of particular interest in the growth of FinTech as they took the world by storm at the launch of bitcoin in 2009 predominantly as a disruptive technology which was to disrupt traditional banking services. The reason for this is that they have the potential to facilitate peer-to-peer payments including those occurring beyond national frontiers. In a decade since the introduction of bitcoin, there have been massive developments in the industry and the use of the underlying distributed ledger technology (DLT), blockchain, both within and beyond financial services. This article examines cryptoassets transactions in Africa. It considers the case for their regulation and the challenges of regulating them. It assesses South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya – three countries where cryptoassets are widely traded. It examines the regulatory approaches in these countries and the extent to which regulatory technology (RegTech) and supervisory technology (SupTech) can be adopted in the supervision of this growing industry in Africa

Terrorism Financing with Virtual Currencies: Can Regulatory Technology Solutions Combat This?

This article considers the terrorism financing risk associated with the growth of Financial Technology innovations and in particular, focuses on virtual currency products and services. The ease with which cross-border payments by virtual currencies are facilitated, the anonymity surrounding their usage, and their potential to be converted into the fiat financial system, make them ideal for terrorism financing and therefore calls for a coordinated global regulatory response. This article considers the extent of the risk of terrorism financing through virtual currencies in “high risk” States by focusing on countries that have been recently associated with terrorism activities. It assesses the robustness of their financial regulatory and law enforcement regimes in combating terrorism financing and considers the extent to which Regulatory Technology and its global standardization, can mitigate this risk

How university students in South Africa perceive their fathers’ roles in their educational development

The larger study that has influenced this article was designed to explore what influenced rural men’s capabilities to actively participate in children’s early social development and its impact on transition to adulthood among their university-going children. Studies have established an increase in the level at which fathers in South Africa have been found wanting in terms of supporting their children’s development at early stages in their lives. It has been reported that this unacceptable behaviour can be transmitted or carried over from one generation to the next. There is the belief that the majority of the young male children who experienced non-supportive fathers will grow up repeating this behaviour with their children. This calls for a study on the perceptions of young people about what fatherhood is all about, hence this study. This study used a descriptive survey with a sample size of 300 students studying education in one university in the Eastern Cape Province. A 25-item questionnaire titled Perception of Fatherhood by University Students (α = 0.75) was used to collect data that were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The participants perceived that the experience and level of education influence men’s perception of fatherhood positively. Extra‑curricular programmes for proper fatherhood transition of young boys are recommended, commencing from Grade 1 through to Grade 12, to expose them to the kinds of dispositions that will enable them to be responsible fathers. There is also a need for compulsory empowerment programmes such as for designers, artists and sportsmen and other semi-skilled professions for male children who cannot acquire higher education to strengthen them socio-economically to provide education for their children

The relevance of the school governance body to the effective decolonisation of education in South Africa

Decolonisation of education is understood in this paper as a means of formalising indigenous culture and knowledge within the formal school system. The focus of this paper is to see how the School Governance Body (SGB) can bring about decolonised education for sustainable development. The African societal culture and traditions seem to be misunderstood and side-lined today because of the privilege enjoyed by western values in formal education used to develop African children. The involvement of people at the grass roots who are still endowed with vast knowledge on this cultural heritage should be considered as an option. The South African school system gave room for community participation in the administration and management of schools under the system of School Governing Bodies (SGBs). These bodies have the potential of being a good source of indigenous knowledge and culture to the school system that will make the education more relevant and functional; hence, leading to sustainable development, if it is properly planned and tapped into. For this to happen, there is the need to examine the relevance of the body through close analysis of its composition and strength to assist in the decolonisation of education. This study adopted an ethnography approach of qualitative research. Three rural-based Eastern Cape communities were used where 18 parents participated in the study. Data were gathered through key informant interviews (KII) and focus group discussions (FGD). One of the results is that traditional leaders are part of the SGB, which makes it a good source of indigenous knowledge and traditions. It was recommended that the composition of the members of SGBs should statutorily include a recognised knowledgeable individual (RKI) in the community to make the body a good source of indigenous knowledge

Transformation and decolonisation of mathematics education for sustainable development: A case study of its learning trend in Nigeria

the quest to contextualise education in Africa has been on-going for a while and many countries have been making efforts towards it. During this time of educational review, conscious efforts should be made to identify problematic levels of some subjects that are dreadful to the learners to pave the way for curriculum re-design for context appropriateness. Mathematics learning in African countries has been a source of concern to all educational stakeholders despite several efforts towards its deconstruction. An examination of performance trend in the subject might reveal at what point the learning started declining and this will suggest intervention towards decolonisation of its content. This study measured the academic performance of pupils from preschool level up to the end of primary education (VI class). A descriptive survey research design was adopted and 720 Primary VI pupils were selected through multi-stage sampling technique in a state in Nigeria. Primary School Mathematics Performance Record Sheet (PSM_PRS) was used to collect mathematics scores from preschool through Primary VI class. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and graphs. Pupils started experiencing major declines in mathematics from Primary III class. Results also indicate no significant difference in the class where male and female pupils’ performances started declining. Therefore, there is the need to review and contextualise mathematics content from third year in primary/elementary school for effective learning. Activity-based and exploratory strategies using contextual experiences and resources to deliver mathematics lessons were recommended for third year in primary/elementary schools and beyond