Banks and insurance firms could deploy new technologies and, using customers’ data, diversify their services while reducing risks associated with some products.

According to Patrick McSharry, co-author of Big Data Revolution and lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda, the firms have data resources they are not using.

“If you are an insurer or a bank, you have all the customers, you know a lot of stuff about them: where they live, their income, language they speak,” he said. “You have a whole range of different pieces of information.”

Experts on data say that this information allows firms to tailor financial products to a segment of customers who would adopt it.

A new trend called ‘data science’ is being used to assess customer needs, use their information and create tailored banking products.

McSharry said companies like Google and Amazon use data collected from their clients to advertise.

“If you are trying to offer someone a bank loan, you need to be able to do risk scoring on individuals; you have to figure out which people are likely to pay back, which people that are likely to default etc,” he said.

Local telcos have been sending customers SMSs adverts, which some don’t like. McSharry said this showed they don’t know their customers, yet there is a possibility to avoid that and use data to create products.