Harnessing legal intelligence and a GRC mindset to benefit African business and development

Governance, risk, and legal and regulatory compliance have to shift from a back-office formality to a decisive lever of competitiveness and resilience for businesses operating in Africa’s fast-shifting markets, says legal data expert Steven De Backer.

“Compliance can no longer be treated as an administrative afterthought — it must be recognised as a core strategic driver of business success,” says Steven, the founder and CEO of Afriwise. “If GRC isn’t baked into your business model from day one, you’re not just taking a risk, you’re gambling with significant fines or worse, your licence to operate or reputational damage.” 

Too many organisations still lack the budget, or even a legal or compliance voice in the top management team, to make that happen, and it shows. This is exactly why frank, solutions-driven conversations are so important, because they can catalyse the changes that boards and CEOs urgently need to make.

“The most forward-thinking companies are embedding GRC in their growth strategies from the outset and they’re the ones thriving,” says Steven. “However, too many, maybe the majority, still don’t, and they’re getting blindsided.”

That’s one of several reasons why Afriwise, who last week announced an industry-reshaping acquisition of LawExplorer, has partnered with Africa Legal to launch a flagship GC Forum | Governance, Risk & Compliance, to be held on 17 September in Johannesburg, alongside the IBA African Regional Forum Conference.

“It’s encouraging that GRC has moved from a niche topic to a board-level imperative — but let’s be honest: many boards are still in catch-up mode,” says Steven. “Africa rewards those who anticipate change, not those who react to it.”

Having grown up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and lived in Tanzania, Burundi, Belgium, and South Africa, Steven is passionate about Africa’s potential.

In 2018 he established Afriwise, which has quickly grown into the continent’s leading legal intelligence platform, inspired by more than two decades working in technology and corporate law. His work in banking, telco, and natural resources law took him to over 40 African nations, but he faced frequent challenges in terms of accessing reliable legal and regulatory information across different jurisdictions.

Steven sees huge potential for legal data in Africa, particularly in the GRC space where anticipating regulatory change can make or break market entry. “With AI and tech, we can turn overwhelming volumes of fragmented regulation into clear, actionable intelligence, enabling companies to see around corners.” 

There are no more excuses from a database or technical point of view, whether starting small or building a deep regulatory data project, the data and tools exist., Steven adds. “It now comes down to the willingness of corporates to act. At the same time, I’m puzzled by how much money is poured into legal, regulatory, and compliance risk management in the West, yet budgets in Africa, even at global companies operating here, remain surprisingly small, which is strange given the regulatory risks are clearly more elevated in emerging markets.”

“Cross-border work is complex, and obviously we also have the African Continental Free Trade Area coming up, but there’s still lots of complexities on the continent,” he says. “We often hear from our clients that general counsel in Africa, even more than in more developed markets, need to be agile, properly informed, and proactive, because there are so many things happening. Things are moving very quickly in Africa, and so having a GRC mindset and also informing people about risks and good governance is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s a core business function.”

Steven says many people appreciate that companies like Africa Legal and Afriwise are “joining forces to lead the charge” and providing a platform to explore important topics at events like next month’s GC Forum | Governance, Risk & Compliance.

While Afriwise is the continent’s fastest-growing legal intelligence platform, for Steven it’s really more about people, and how such legal and regulatory data can be harnessed to find solutions and move businesses and the continent forward.

“We bring data in, then work with General Counsel to find solutions with that data. We are quite similar to Africa Legal in the sense we are building an Africa-focused ecosystem and fostering dialogue among stakeholders. On our platforms we give access to 3,000 legal experts and have tools to give users direct access to lawyers.”

It made sense for Afriwise to partner with Africa Legal to create a new GC Forum on the key topic of GRC, says Steven. “Let’s join hands and see how we can further shape the future of corporate governance and risk management on the continent.”

He is looking forward to next month’s GC Forum | Governance, Risk & Compliance going beyond the usual conference chats, with open, frank, and detailed discussions about solving specific problems, and attendees really learning from each other. “At the GC Forum, I don’t want polite panels that state the obvious,” Steven says. “We’re bringing senior counsel and compliance leaders together to challenge orthodoxies, debate hard truths, and leave with solutions they can implement the next morning.”