The Fintech Data Conundrum: Fiduciary Accountability and Data Governance in Nigeria

Given Nigeria's status as a leader in the fintech industry in Africa with Nigerian fintech’s processing trillions of Naira in digital transactions yearly and managing the personal and financial data of millions of Nigerians, the governance of those data by Nigerian fintech’s remains under-theorized from corporate governance and fiduciary perspectives. This paper argues that data privacy/protection and information sharing by Nigerian fintech’s are more about fiduciary accountability than data governance. The paper relied on comparative and doctrinal research of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023, select regulations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020. This paper discusses how the principles of data protection may be interpreted as fiduciary responsibility. It highlights the role of fintech boards, including oversight and assurance by the audit committee, the alignment of executive incentives and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting in the context of Nigeria’s stratified fintech regulatory framework. The paper proffers recommendations to the boards of fintech companies, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN).