In this episode of the FIT4Privacy Podcast, privacy expert Punit Patia welcomes Ridwan Oloyede to the Fit4Privacy podcast to discuss how privacy is perceived and evolving across Africa.

KEY MOMENTS
01:38 – State of Africa Privacy Overview

03:25 – Laws Across Countries

05:18 – State of Compliance

09:04 – AI Reshaping Regulation
14:12 – Africa Privacy state in next 5-7 years

16:23 – Contact Information

Ridwan explains that many African constitution's guarantee privacy rights and that, since 2001, data protection laws have expanded to dozens of countries, typically through omnibus statutes plus sector-specific and regional rules. They discuss compliance maturity, noting increasing local compliance requirements (such as registration and transfer authorizations), growing enforcement activity, and emerging litigation models that vary by country.

The conversation also covers rapid growth in AI governance, including national AI strategies and policies, proposed AI-specific and emerging-technology legislation, amendments to data protection laws to address AI, and actions by regulators such as moratoriums and guidance on facial recognition and biometrics.

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ABOUT THE GUEST

Ridwan Oloyede is a Nigerian legal practitioner, researcher, and expert in data protection, cybersecurity, and technology policy. As co-founder of Tech Hive Advisory and a Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP), he focuses on AI governance, digital ethics, and cross-border data transfers in Africa.

ABOUT THE HOST

Punit Bhatia is one of the leading privacy experts who works independently and has worked with professionals in over 30 countries. Punit works with business and privacy leaders to create an organization culture with high privacy awareness and compliance as a business priority. Selectively, Punit is open to mentor and coach privacy professionals.

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Resources & Links

Guest Links

Ridwan Oloyede https://www.linkedin.com/in/oloyederidwan/

GrowSkills (Privacy Courses & Insights)

• Courses: https://growskills.store/courses/

• Insights: https://growskills.store/insights/

• Website: https://growskills.store/

FIT4Privacy

• Website: https://www.fit4privacy.com

• Podcast: https://www.fit4privacy.com/podcast

• Blog: https://www.fit4privacy.com/blog

• YouTube: http://youtube.com/fit4privacy

Punit Bhatia

• Website: https://www.punitbhatia.com

Books

• Be Ready for GDPR

• AI & Privacy – How to Find Balance

• Intro to GDPR

• Be an Effective DPO