Overview
Afriwise provides legal research, regulatory monitoring and compliance management across African jurisdictions. The platform covers 45+ countries, including Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, and the company states its coverage spans 85% of Africa's economy. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered at Avenue Louise 292 in Brussels. It has 51-200 employees. The leadership team includes Kim Hawkey as Chief Content and Product Officer, Christophe Bostyn as Chief Operations Officer and Pierre-Yves Thomas as Chief Technology Officer. The content is maintained with 180+ partner law firms across Africa and holds 25,000+ searchable laws and bills. Named customers include Unilever, CBRE, Barloworld, DHL, Ecobank, Mastercard, M-KOPA, PepsiCo, MTN, L'Oréal, Roche, Merck, Deloitte and IDC.
Stated facts & numbers
- Founded: 2018
- Headquarters: Brussels
- Employees: 51-200
- Founder and CEO: Steven De Backer
- Coverage: 45+ African countries, 180+ partner law firms
- Customers: Unilever, DHL, Mastercard, MTN, PepsiCo, L'Oréal, Roche, Deloitte, Ecobank
Leadership & org chart
In the news
- What are you facing now that's more challenging than it was two years ago? That was the question put to the room as we gathered at the Mount Nelson in Cape Town for another exclusive Table Talks. Bringing together senior executives across legal, compliance, and regional leadership, from seasoned General Counsel to the sharpest rising minds in the industry, proved once again that the true value isn't a pre-set agenda. It’s the collective intelligence around the table. Bradley Sanders-Perrin Esti Louw Israel S. Koen Hutsebaut
- Borders on a map stay put. The rules inside them don't. Here's what's shifted this week. 🔵 Know the law, know when it moves, know who to call. Afriwise now brings research, monitoring and AI together in one place, with a simpler route to local counsel when you need it. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸'𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀: Kenya - ALN examines the High Court's Bolt judgment, declaring key ride-hailing regulations unconstitutional, suspending the invalidity for 12 months and barring enforcement of the 18% commission cap in the meantime.. Nigeria- Aluko
- Very proud to see Beulah Luttig taking this conversation forward. AI will change how legal and compliance teams work across Africa, no doubt about that. And at Afriwise we have the data layer to make this possible. But technology alone will not solve the complexity of 54 very different jurisdictions. In-country intelligence, regulatory experience, trusted relationships and editorial expertise remain essential. Beulah and the Afriwise Law Explorer team have helped some of Africa's largest companies moving from simply reacting to
- No single player holds all the answers to navigating legal work across Africa. Routing local legal work via off-continent intermediaries leaves out the real reasoning, caveats, and human trust. The expertise is already on the ground. In-house teams just need direct access. When you create spaces for local counsel and in-house leaders to have unscripted, direct dialogue, everything changes. Distant, arm's-length transactions quickly turn into genuine working relationships. As Glenda Benson highlights in this article
- Scaling across borders requires a good map. Here are the legal updates that could reroute your strategy this week. 🔵 When an urgent legal question lands late on a Friday, you don't need a proxy in London or Paris, You need the local African expert's direct contact in your phone. At last year’s GC Forum GRC with Africa Legal, Afriwise's Glenda Benson's unscripted panel of local counsel delivered unfiltered regulatory insights and direct contacts on the ground. This year, the panel returns to tackle the hardest, most pointed
- Sometimes you need to look up from the day-to-day grind and realise how far you have come. Today Afriwise provides: → AI-assisted research across 22 African countries and growing rapidly → Legislation and Monitoring by legal topic across 38 countries → In-Depth Regulatory Monitoring, powered by Sentinel, across 24 countries → Practical Guidance across 23 countries When we started, the idea that an African legal intelligence company could build this kind of breadth seemed rather ambitious. There is still a huge amount to build. And
- What an incredible day connecting with General Counsel, Heads of Legal, and legal leaders at The Wanderers Club for the Law.com General Counsel Conference Africa! In partnership with Law.com International, Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa (CCASA), and Global Leaders in Law (GLL), today’s sessions sparked vital conversations around community, collaboration, and navigating complex regulatory landscapes. It served as a powerful reminder of why we build the technology we do. The momentum continues tonight at the Law.com
- The African Legal Awards are back in Johannesburg tonight. Always a great evening for the African legal community and especially looking forward to seeing many Afriwise clients, partner law firms and friends in the room. I'm of course also pleased to see Afriwise once again shortlisted for an award, this time for the Best Use of Technology Award. Good luck to all the finalists. See you tonight!
Alumni
Steven BackerFounder & Managing Director, AW Consult (Pty) Ltd
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