Story & Leadership
TechLaw Africa is a regulatory advisory firm bridging legal insight, compliance design, and technical understanding for the digital economy.
Why TechLaw Africa?
Traditional law firms focus on contracts and litigation. Compliance firms focus on audit sheets. Technology companies focus on shipping code. None of them understand how the three areas must work together.
We founded TechLaw Africa to resolve this gap. By combining senior legal advisors with tech compliance practitioners, we translate central bank payment system guidelines, SEC crypto regulations, and regional data protection acts into concrete roadmap checklists for your engineers and executives.
Accelerating compliant innovation.
Our mission is to make compliance a tool that supports your business's expansion across African borders, rather than a blocker that slows it down. We provide actionable, localized advice tailored for actual implementation.
Our Approach & Expertise
How we work with digital asset platforms, neo-banks, and payments groups.
Actionable Guidance
We don't deliver multi-page, abstract legal memos. We deliver concrete, step-by-step checklists that map requirements directly to your product engineering sprints and operations.
Technical Alignment
We understand APIs, non-custodial wallet infrastructure, Travel Rule adapters, and database localization rules. We write compliance requirements that engineers actually understand.
Active Relationships
We engage in person with regulators. We support and coordinate your applications with central bank payment departments and securities commissions, resolving issues through open dialogue.
Leadership Team
A multi-disciplinary team combining regulatory policy, legal counsel, and technical risk advisory.
Basil Okello
CEO
Admitted attorney specializing in financial technology and digital assets. Basil structures cross-border tripartite regulated partnership structures, VASP licensing exemptions, and coordinates regulatory engagement before securities commissions and central banks across Africa.
Gillian Neky
Legal & Regulatory Lead
Gillian Neky is a commercial and technology lawyer advising businesses operating in Africa's digital economy.
Her practice spans fintech, telecommunications, data protection and emerging technologies, with a particular interest in the legal and regulatory questions that arise as new products and business models develop.
Before co-founding TechLaw Africa, Gillian practised at CM Advocates LLP before establishing Gillian Neky & Co. Advocates, where she continues to advise technology companies and regulated businesses on data protection, commercial transactions and regulatory compliance.
She also advises businesses and individuals on matters arising from anti-money laundering investigations, including engagements with financial institutions and regulators relating to frozen funds.
Joel Simiyu
Risk & Compliance Lead
Certified anti-money laundering specialist (CAMS) with a technical background. Joel designs rule-based transaction monitoring systems, AML/CFT risk mapping frameworks, high-risk transaction due diligence mechanisms, and data protection structures (POPIA, NDPR, ODPC).
Jurisdictions Served
Partner with compliance practitioners
Let's structure your licensing and operating frameworks across African markets.
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