Omnisient recognised for impact on growing financial inclusion in Africa

Anton Grutzmacher, co-founder of Omnisient.

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Omnisient, which positions itself as the global leader in privacy-preserving data collaboration, was recognised at the Africa Bank Summit, held in Nairobi this week, for the impact it is having on growing financial inclusion in Africa. This accolade highlights a groundbreaking initiative that has enabled banks to assess credit risk and qualify millions of previously underserved individuals by analysing their grocery shopping histories.

As a result, banks have been able to evaluate the financial reliability of 8 million people who have no formal credit history and deemed 3.2 million of them as low-risk and eligible for affordable financial services.

Anton Grutzmacher, co-founder of Omnisient, commented on accepting the award: “By leveraging everyday shopping data, we’ve unlocked new opportunities for financial inclusion. This recognition underscores the significant impact that cross-industry collaboration on first-party consumer data can have on improving people’s lives.”

The implications of this development are profound. For the first time, a substantial segment of the population, previously invisible to the traditional credit bureaus, can now access loans and other financial products should they give consent to use alternative data for determining their credit score. This shift not only opens new markets for banks, but also promises to enhance the economic mobility for millions by giving them access to affordable and life-changing loans.

Omnisient’s platform enables organisations to share their consumer insights with their collaboration partners without ever sharing raw data. Consumer data is anonymised within the data owner’s local environment, protected through advanced cryptography and only then uploaded into a secure and neutral environment where data can be analysed but cannot be removed or downloaded. This ensures compliance with global consumer privacy regulations and protects data owners from data breach or loss of company IP.

Omnisient’s privacy-preserving data collaboration platform protects over 160 million consumer records for more than 80 of Africa’s leading banks, retailers, insurers and healthcare organisations. The company’s impactful work has earned recognition from the World Economic Forum, the United Nations and Fast Company for advancing financial inclusion.

The award ceremony at the Africa Bank Summit brought together leaders from the banking and financial technology sectors, emphasising innovations that are transforming financial services across the continent.