Learn about Regulatory Sandboxes for Data Governance in Africa

💐 From my work on the data-driven public sector at OECD Public Governance to the collaboration with the #govtech team at The World Bank on interoperability, the topic of standards to enable the so much needed collaboration between the multitude of actors in a data ecosystem has steadily come up throughout the years. 📣With Liip now joining eCH we have the opportunity to contribute to standards development for digital government in Switzerland even more purposefully than we already did across our client projects. This will foster semantic, technical and organisational interoperability not only within the country but also across borders. 🙏 I feel privileged to be coordinating our efforts in this important field and getting expert colleagues like Nataliia Kovalchuk and Rae Knowler on board to make a difference on standards for political affairs and open government data. 👉 Get all the details in the following blog article (DE-EN-FR): Liip: https://liip.to/echLI

What is Data Sovereignty? Data Sovereignty is data that adheres to certain guidelines and framework within the country’s borders, Sovereignty indicates who has control over the data, where the data is stored, and how it is shared. Did you know? IndigenousTech.ai has the BIGGEST Indigenous Business Database in Canada that is OCAP aligned 🤯 We need to make a change; Indigenous peoples struggle every day with data-related challenges. 📢 #indigenousdatasovereignty #indigenousdata #indigenousownedbusiness #indigenousdatabase #indigenouscommunities #indigenouspeoplesrights

The discussion examined a crucial question: Who truly controls, priorities, and loses when it comes to Africa’s data sovereignty? Key takeaways: 🔹 Out of 68 data centres in South Africa, fewer than five are locally owned underscoring Africa’s dependency on external players. 🔹 Deeper collaboration between governments and the private sector is essential to scaling in-country data capacity. 🔹 Harmonizing data protection laws across Africa will help us break the silos that weaken our collective efforts. 🔹 A united approach positions Africa to build trusted digital infrastructure and strengthen its global digital presence. At OLLA Systems, we believe that when Africa comes together on data sovereignty, nobody can stop us. 👉🏾 How do you see Africa bridging this data divide—through infrastructure, policy, or partnerships? We’d love to hear your perspective. #OllaSystems #ADS2025 #DigitalAfrica #DataSovereignty #CloudInnovation #TechLeadership

Great discussion at this morning’s Alternative Data Breakfast #3 hosted by Jordan Hauer(Amass Insights) and Boris Liberman (Lowenstein Sandler LLP) exploring how "alternative data without borders" still meets very real local constraints. Joined by panelists Ed Lavery, Jon Kinderlerer and Stewart Stimson, the session covered: Risk Management: To anticipate regulation, first understand whose interests it protects e.g consumer, competition, or national security. That lens informs contingency planning and underpins sustainable data usage. China: Data policy shifts daily. Success requires local presence, investment in compliance teams, and awareness of emerging structures like the Shanghai Data Exchange, now central to data asset trading under state oversight. Europe: Fragmentation, cultural differences, and evolving regulation (GDPR, DORA, AI Act) add friction and cost. Europe’s B2B-driven economy and relatively shallow markets often make unifying datasets uneconomic, notable exceptions being leading category providers e.g. Consumer Edge and Fable Data in transaction data. Government Data Reliability: From BLS revisions to methodological gaps, official stats face growing scrutiny. Alternative data’s maturity and historical depth make it a credible complement in many macro and investment contexts. Thanks to Lowenstein Sandler and Amass Insights for another thoughtful session. #AlternativeData #DataStrategy #Compliance #Buyside #Altdata

Let’s be real: you can’t build reliable insights in Africa if you’re cutting corners on data acquisition. Yes, online panels sound cheap, fast, and easy… but you know what else they bring? Inconsistent respondents, ghost completions, and answers that make you question humanity itself. You’ve probably felt it: that sinking pain when you realize the “perfect dataset” you presented last week collapses under basic validation checks. Or when your client builds strategy on numbers that were basically… fiction. 🤦🏾♂️ The truth is, in Africa’s diverse and fragmented markets, you can’t just rely on a generic online panel and expect gold-standard insights. Quality control, cultural fit, and localized vetting matter more than speed. So here’s the uncomfortable question: when you hire a research partner, do you expect them to deliver real insights, or are you secretly okay with shiny but shaky numbers as long as they look good on a slide? #data #quality #datacollection #Nigeria

The Digital Watch Observatory has just launched a dedicated page on the CSTD Working Group on Data Governance. This new resource provides: - Key updates and background on the Working Group’s discussions - Access to documents - Insights into global debates shaping the future of data governance Whether you are a policymaker, researcher, or digital governance professional, this page is your go-to hub for staying informed. Explore the page ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/dhxikMGr . . #DataGovernance #CSTD #UnitedNations #DigitalWatch #InternetGovernance #DiploFoundation

Data governance is one of the pillars of the UN Global Digital Compact. To make recommendations on this topic, specially on the way that data governance may contribute to development, a dedicated working group was created under the Commission on Science and Technology for Development. 📌 In order to facilitate the sharing of information, the Digital Watch Observatory launched a dedicated page about this important process. ❗ Important deadline on 7 October: the WG launched questionnaires to collect inputs on the following topics: 1. data governance principles; 2. interoperability; 3. sharing the benefits of data; 4. data flows, including cross-border flows. Share your views and contribute with the CSTD WGDG final report. The questionnaires can be found under call for contributions in the WGDG website: https://lnkd.in/edvpKaSC #datagovernance #CSTD #UnitedNations #Internetgovernance #DigitalWatch United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies

The third part of our series examining the accelerating shift of corporate operations to Southeast Asia. This one discusses how evolving local rules in Southeast Asian countries are poised to impact data management practices. Read more>>> https://lnkd.in/gtuzSiqj

“We should expect more dialogue with stakeholders, more timely and concise guidance that is "accessible, easy to understand, and practical" for small and medium-sized enterprises and "in line with the risk-based approach," with more templates and tools. And indeed, the EDPB has developed tools over recent months to helps SMEs navigate the data protection landscape.” Keep reading this week’s “A View from Brussels” as IAPP’s Isabelle Roccia (CIPP/E) explores how a wind of pragmatism is reshaping the EU’s approach to data protection: https://bit.ly/4o53uQi

The International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) has developed a ‘Global Regulatory Coherence Dashboard’ to understand the impact of increasing global regulatory fragmentation. It maps the extent of global alignment, or divergence, in financial regulations across key policy areas affecting UK-based financial and related professional services (FPS). The dashboard highlights both priority areas where the UK can continue to show its global leadership in promoting regulatory coherence, as well as areas where greater attention or new approaches are required. For more information about what areas there are for collaboration, and ones where more innovative strategies are needed, download the dashboard at: https://lnkd.in/exRMtTbG