The 2025 edition placed two subjects at the centre of dialogue: how can financial stakeholders cooperate around data, and how can an innovation be tested when its model raises new regulatory questions? Open Finance and regulatory sandboxes provided two perspectives on the conditions for market development.
Why these subjects in the DRC?
The edition’s concept starts from a financial inclusion ambition: developing appropriate services for people and businesses facing difficulty accessing formal services. It connects that ambition with the capabilities of banks, mobile money operators and fintechs, as well as the responsibilities of authorities and development partners.
1. Open Finance: from connecting services to consent-based data sharing
Open Finance considers secure financial data sharing between authorised stakeholders, with the user’s consent and defined responsibilities. The concept proposes examining how this approach could inform understanding of needs, support certain customer journeys and enable more appropriate services.
These possibilities raise precise questions: which data would be useful for the proposed service? How should consent be obtained and managed? Who can access the data, for what purpose and for how long? What security requirements apply, and who is responsible when an incident occurs? Using data to assess financing needs also requires consideration of data quality and risks for users.
2. Interoperability and APIs: defining what needs to connect
Connecting payment networks and sharing financial data are related subjects with their own requirements. Moving a transaction does not by itself establish rights to access a customer’s data. The concept therefore raises questions about technical interfaces, common standards, infrastructure and coordination between institutions.
3. Regulatory sandboxes: designing tests that generate learning
An experimentation framework needs to address a supervision question and produce useful findings. The Palabres 2025 concept examines entry criteria, testing scope, customer protections and exit conditions. It also raises the capabilities authorities need to monitor experiments.
The task is to define which models merit testing, which risks need to be controlled and what may follow the experiment. Full authorisation or continuation of an activity depends on the competent authorities and applicable framework.
4. Public–private cooperation: bringing responsibilities into the same conversation
Fintechs contribute use cases and implementation challenges. Banks, mobile money operators and payment networks contribute operational capabilities. Financial and digital authorities bring policy and supervision perspectives. Development partners can contribute expertise and experience from other markets.
Within this system, DFA represents a collective industry voice and helps these perspectives meet. Introductions, regulatory consultations and compliance guidance carry this role into its day-to-day activities.
5. Inclusion as a measure of relevance
The concept connects discussions with SNIF and PNN Horizon 2025. An innovation also needs to be assessed through use: whom does it serve, which obstacle does it reduce and how does it protect the people using it? The needs of women, young people, small businesses and rural communities give this discussion a practical direction.
At the close: H.E. the Minister of the Digital Economy
His Excellency Augustin Kibassa Maliba, Minister of the Digital Economy, closed the day. According to Fintech Médias, he welcomed the progress made at the forum and said the DRC has the people and the partners to build inclusive, secure and efficient finance.
“Open Finance and the Sandbox are not slogans” (translated from French)
The Minister described open finance and the regulatory sandbox as the pillars of an innovative, flexible framework aligned with international standards. He reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to local solutions suited to Congolese realities and to young digital entrepreneurs, in line with the Digital Nation 2030 outlook.
Questions for further examination
Consent and security arrangements; interoperability conditions; the scope of a supervised test; partner responsibilities; and how to assess usefulness to users. These subjects provide a basis for stakeholder discussion and DFA’s research agenda.