People
DICRI is a research initiative dedicated to the study of informal digital credit and platform-based credit governance. The initiative is currently directed by its founding director and is developing an international research network to support comparative research across jurisdictions.
Our People
Catalin Gabriel Stanescu
Founding Director
Catalin Stanescu is an Associate Professor of Private Law whose work explores informal credit systems, platform governance, and the displacement of legal authority in digital markets. His research focuses on how technological infrastructures restructure credit access, enforcement, and financial vulnerability across jurisdictions.
He is the author of EU Informal Debt Collection Regulation: Failure by Design? (OUP) and the developer of the GOVLAW framework for understanding governance without law in digital informal credit systems.
Dr. Boris Awa
Senior Research Associate
Dr. Boris Awa is a Lecturer in Law and Director of the Centre for Law, Technology and Sustainable Development at Kigali Independent University (ULK), Rwanda. His research and teaching span economic and financial law, company law, fintech regulation, cryptocurrency, and private international law.
Before joining ULK, he worked at Epena Law in Douala, Cameroon, within the Technology and Finance Department. His work focuses on investment law and international trade in Africa, with particular interest in the intersection of digital finance, regulatory development, and emerging markets.
He holds a Ph.D. in Law and a Master’s degree in International Trade and Investment Law in Africa from the University of Dschang, Cameroon
International Research Network
DICRI is currently establishing collaborative links with scholars in Southeast Asia and Africa to advance comparative research on digital credit governance. Formal affiliations will be announced upon confirmation.