Africa is a fast-growing market and offers some excellent expansion opportunities. Many South African businesses want to grow by opening up new divisions or entities in neighbouring countries. Likewise, many international companies look to Africa as the next step in their expansion plan. Before simply opening up shop, you need to understand the practical implications. You have to think about how you:
- will protect personal data in this broader context, and
- can lawfully transfer data between your head office and your subsidiaries or franchisees.
Important questions to consider
Who are your data subjects?
You will need to know whether a ‘data subject’ is similar to the definition you are familiar with. Is a data subject the same in all the countries I want to operate in? Sometimes the definitions can be narrower or more expansive, so you need to know whose personal data you actually need to protect.
Can you transfer personal data out of the country to your primary location?
This is an essential factor to consider when you operate across Africa. You may need to do a transfer impact assessment to see if you can lawfully transfer personal data. You should consider factors like:
- adequacy of the laws in the African countries
- whether you can transfer personal data from the world to an African country
- whether you can transfer personal data between African countries:
- from a country with a law to one without a law,
- from a country without law to one with a law,
- between countries without laws.
Are there any registration requirements in the African country?
Some data protection laws require you to appoint a data protection officer and register that person with the country’s data protection authority. There also may be further requirements, like training, that the data protection officer must do.
How can we help you?
- Enquire about our Data Protection in Africa report.
- Join our data protection programme with our Africa lens.
- Sign up for one of our Data Protection in Africa workshops.
