Proto is expanding its AI-based citizen support to southern Africa through a collaboration with the Bank of Namibia (BoN), Instant Payments Namibia (IPN), Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA), and the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN). Under a shared service procurement model with Gates Foundation support, this initiative will automate citizen engagement and complaint resolution to ensure consumer trust.
This deployment is part of a broader supervisory technology scale-up supported by the Gates Foundation, which has provided $1.8 million in funding for Proto to deploy its AI assistant and complaints management system across six low- and middle-income countries. The Namibian project is implemented in partnership with the University of Cambridge SupTech Lab, and builds upon the rollout this year in the Philippines.
Gates Foundation Senior Program Officer Anna Wallace said: “The Foundation is investing in consumer protection AI tools with the goal of building consumer trust in digital services for the lowest-income communities. Through these projects, the Foundation hopes to demonstrate the value of an automated grievance redress system for citizens, regulators and governments, and catalyse broader adoption across emerging markets.
Why financial inclusion needs consumer protection
Across Africa, digital financial services such as mobile money and microlending are reaching more people than ever before. While these services offer increased convenience and inclusion, they also open the door to scams, mis-selling, data exploitation, and opaque terms and conditions.These issues tend to disproportionately affect the world’s poorest consumers.
For example, the World Bank’s 2023 study on Digital Finance Consumer Risks found that 90% of consumers in Senegal experienced a consumer protection challenge, and 40% lost money as a result. When consumers are not protected, it damages their trust in financial systems and prevents them from accessing life-changing tools proven to lift citizens out of poverty, like microloans and digital payments. Once this trust is lost, it is very difficult to regain. Per Findex, 23% of consumers chose not to access formal financial services due to this lack of trust in institutions.
Supervisory authorities recognise that traditional enforcement mechanisms are no longer sufficient to keep up with increasingly complex and numerous threats. In this context, AI-powered infrastructure is seen as a critical enabler of inclusive and efficient consumer protection, especially when combined with real-time analytics and multilingual support.
Proto CEO Curtis Matlock said: “Namibia’s decision to adopt the latest supervisory technology is setting the bar for innovation among Africa’s regulators. This project brings together the best in conversational AI, international cooperation, and local leadership to ensure that every citizen has access to fast and fair recourse.”
AI designed with Namibia’s public service
The Proto AI system enables citizens to submit complaints to any participating agency and have these cases either handled immediately or referred to the appropriate agency or business for monitored resolution. The goal is to streamline consumer protection, eliminate regulatory overlap, and increase confidence in the digital economy.
The system incorporates Namibia’s unique linguistic and legislative requirements, with a cross-agency design workshop held at the Bank of Namibia on June 11-12. The workshop was conducted by the Cambridge SupTech Lab following a comprehensive diagnostic phase to gather over 100 parameters about each agency’s current complaint workflow.
One of the key outputs from the design phase is a unified complaints management framework and system architecture, which will now be implemented by Proto into the AI assistant workflow, data hosting infrastructure, and ticketing system.
Cambridge SupTech Lab Co-Head Matt Grasser said: “We were impressed by the level of rigorous engagement that public servants from Namibia’s financial and communications regulators brought to the design workshop. We are excited at the potential for more government agencies’ ability to join in shared AI services for citizens, through the flexible system design that Proto is deploying in Namibia and beyond.”
Sustainable tech for Africa’s governments
The deployment’s shared service model, supported by one-year of Gates Foundation funding, allows government agencies to operate a single AI platform while maintaining regulatory independence and data control. After the first year, the agencies can split a single license to the Proto solution. This model reduces traditional barriers to procurement, such as cost and cross-agency collaboration, and provides greater resiliency of mission-critical systems.
To support this deployment, Proto will deliver its AICX platform with the following features:
- Voice and text AI built for Namibia’s languages such as Oshiwambo, powered by ProtoAI and fine-tuned to local dialects not served by large language models.
- Data protection with options for on-premise hosting, citizen authentication, and enterprise-grade security certification.
- Multi-channel engagement via WhatsApp, SMS, and Messenger to ensure citizens can access help in their everyday apps.
- Supervisory analytics to offer real-time insights into complaint trends, misconduct signals, and regulatory performance across sectors.
Bank of Namibia Technical Advisor to the Governor Mr. Romeo Nel said: “On behalf of the Bank of Namibia, Instant Payments Namibia, NAMFISA, and CRAN, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Lab and Proto for joining us as we embark on this pivotal journey together. This initiative marks a key milestone for us as regulators to adopt a more inclusive approach to handling complaints. As we all know, complaints come as matters of urgency. With advancements in AI, we now have the opportunity to automate this process and shift from a reactive to proactive approach that serves our people, strengthens accountability, and renews public trust. We are confident that this innovation will serve the people we represent."
This project follows the recent launch of the Bank of Namibia’s Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Laboratory in partnership with NUST, which is aimed at strengthening the country’s technological capacity for innovation and regulation. In parallel, NAMFISA continues to lead in fintech innovation through its Regulatory Sandbox, enabling startups to pilot new financial services in a secure environment.
About Bank of Namibia
The Bank of Namibia is the central bank of the Republic of Namibia. Established in 1990, its primary mandate is to maintain monetary and financial system stability in the country. BoN is responsible for formulating and implementing monetary policy, issuing currency, managing foreign reserves, and ensuring the soundness of the financial system. Through prudent regulation, financial inclusion efforts, and policy innovation, the Bank of Namibia plays a pivotal role in fostering sustainable economic growth and development.
About Instant Payments Namibia
Instant Payments Namibia is a national real-time payment system launched by the Bank of Namibia in partnership with NPCI International Payments Ltd, modelled after India’s UPI infrastructure. Set for rollout from September 2025, the platform enables 24/7 instant transfers across person-to-person, wallet-to-bank, and merchant transactions—accessible via smartphones, feature phones, and even non-smart devices. With a strong focus on financial inclusion, the system is designed to benefit all Namibians, including vendors, pensioners, taxi drivers, and small businesses in both formal and informal sectors. Governed under a public-good model during its initial phase, the initiative aims to ensure full interoperability across financial institutions by the end of 2025.
About NAMFISA
The Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority is an independent regulatory body established to supervise and regulate non-banking financial institutions in Namibia. Created under the NAMFISA Act (No. 3 of 2001), its mandate includes overseeing industries such as insurance, pension funds, micro-lending, and capital markets. NAMFISA aims to protect consumers and ensure financial stability by enforcing compliance, promoting transparency, and supporting the development of a robust and inclusive financial sector.
About CRAN
The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia is the national regulatory body responsible for overseeing and promoting the development of the communications, broadcasting, and postal sectors in Namibia. Established in 2011 under the Communications Act (No. 8 of 2009), CRAN ensures fair competition, consumer protection, and universal access to communication services. Through effective regulation and stakeholder engagement, CRAN supports innovation, inclusivity, and the sustainable growth of Namibia’s information and communication technologies (ICT) landscape.
