Case Studies
Results We Have Delivered
The following case studies represent the kind of engagements we lead. Client names are withheld in accordance with our standard confidentiality agreements.
ISO 20022 Migration & Real-Time Payments Enablement
Regional Commercial Bank · CEMAC Zone
Challenge
The bank faced a mandatory ISO 20022 compliance deadline and a strategic imperative to launch real-time payment services while operating a fragile, batch-based legacy payment infrastructure with no internal technology leadership capable of managing the transition.
Approach
AFRICOPIL was retained on a combined Fractional CTO Leadership and Payments Modernization mandate. We designed the target architecture, ran a vendor selection process for the payment switch and ISO 20022 conversion engine, and provided 16 months of architecture governance through delivery.
Outcomes
- ✓ISO 20022 compliance achieved 2 months ahead of the regulatory deadline
- ✓Real-time payment capability live within 16 months
- ✓40% reduction in payment settlement times
- ✓Zero disruption to live transaction operations throughout the transition
- ✓Internal technology team upskilled through knowledge transfer
AI-Powered Fraud Detection Deployment
National Development Finance Institution · Central Africa
Challenge
The institution was manually screening over 15,000 transactions per month for fraud indicators, a process that was slow, inconsistent, and missing a growing proportion of sophisticated fraud attempts. A previous attempt to deploy a commercial AI fraud tool had failed due to data quality issues.
Approach
AFRICOPIL was retained on an AI Adoption Strategy mandate. We began with a data infrastructure assessment, rebuilt the data pipeline, and designed a custom fraud detection model trained on the institution's own transaction history. We deployed the model through a governed MLOps pipeline with full COBAC documentation.
Outcomes
- ✓31% improvement in fraud detection accuracy
- ✓60% reduction in manual transaction screening workload
- ✓8 percentage-point reduction in NPL rate from fraud-related defaults
- ✓COBAC-ready model risk documentation produced
- ✓Internal data science capability established through knowledge transfer
Cybersecurity Posture Transformation
Pan-CEMAC Payment Processor
Challenge
An external penetration test commissioned by the board revealed a critical API vulnerability in the processor's payment gateway, exposing approximately $2 billion USD in annual transaction value. The board required an immediate remediation plan and a long-term security transformation program.
Approach
AFRICOPIL was retained on a Cybersecurity Evaluation & Alignment mandate. We designed and oversaw the emergency remediation of the critical vulnerability within 30 days, then led a 12-month security architecture and governance transformation program aligned to ISO 27001 and COBAC requirements.
Outcomes
- ✓Critical vulnerability remediated within 30 days of engagement start
- ✓ISO 27001 certification achieved at month 14
- ✓Mean time to detect (MTTD) reduced from 72 hours to under 4 hours
- ✓COBAC cybersecurity examination satisfied with no material findings
- ✓Security governance framework adopted as board-level policy