Omnisient recognised as Data for Society finalist

Omnisient, the Cape Town-based privacy-preserving data collaboration platform, emerged as a finalist for the esteemed Data for Society category at the DataIQ awards held in London. The event, celebrating initiatives in data and analytics, recognised the start-up alongside industry giants like Experian, NatWest, the Data for Children Collaborative, and Oxylabs.

The company’s innovative approach to data utilisation has not only earned it a place among the finalists but has also garnered global recognition for its significant societal impact.

The DataIQ Awards, this year featuring an impressive 424 entries, spotlighted exceptional projects aimed at utilizing data and analytics for positive societal outcomes. The coveted Data for Society award was presented to Trilateral Research for their CESIUM platform, a system dedicated to preventing child exploitation by providing near real-time access to vital multi-agency data and decision support tools.

Omnisient’s selection as a finalist was based on their transformative case study, highlighting how their platform enabled a large grocery retailer to partner with leading banks.

By analysing shopping behavior, its technology facilitated the calculation of credit scores for 8 million individuals lacking credit history. Remarkably, 3.2 million among them were identified as eligible for affordable credit, a life-changing opportunity that was previously denied to them.

Anton Grutzmacher, co-founder of Omnisient, expressed his gratitude, saying, “It’s such an honour to be recognized by a prestigious panel of data leaders for the impact our platform is having on society. The calibre of judges and of companies selected as finalists further affirms that our technology is addressing global needs at a global standard.”

This accolade adds to Omnisient’s growing list of achievements, including their invitation to join the World Economic Forum as a Tech Pioneer in June 2023. Its pioneering use of consumer data to solve societal issues also earned them a spot on TechCrunch’s list of the 200 start-ups worldwide making the most significant impact on society today.

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