Nairobi, Dec. 2 -- Africa's next decade of socio-economic growth will be defined by one core principle; data-first financial market solutions. We already see demand for better, faster, and fairer financial services. The missing link is neither talent nor capital alone; it is systematic, ethical use of data to democratise access to meaningful, affordable credit and financial products at scale.

A data-first approach begins with rethinking what data means across African markets. Traditional credit histories are sparse for large segments of the population and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises operating on the continent.

Despite being the life-blood of Africa's economy, the funding gap is acute, with only about 29 percent of these MSMEs ha...