SA fintech startup Omnisient raises $7.5m Series A funding.

South African fintech startup Omniscient has received Series A funding of $7.5m from Arise, a company that invests in African financial service providers and fintechs that propagate financial inclusivity.

Omnisient, a company founded in 2019 is a privacy-preserving data-sharing and insights structure that enables the creators and beneficiaries of consumer data to work together to obtain business insights while protecting consumer privacy. This technology provides a regulated, and safe environment for data analysis.

The World Bank estimates that 1.7 billion people face exclusion from core financial services, preventing them from obtaining essential needs such as housing, healthcare, education, and business funds. Since its creation, the startup’s platform has offered protection to 160 million consumer profiles and helped millions of other disadvantaged people gain access to loans, insurance, and several other financial services by making use of consumer shopping behavior to support credit risk appraisal.

The fintech startup has earned several awards for its giant strides in financial innovation, including “Most Innovative Financial Inclusion Tech of the Year” at the Africa Bank 4.0 Summit, recognition as one of the top 200 game-changing startups by TechCrunch, and being named a World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer simultaneously.

In that vein, Arise will tailor this investment to support Omnisient’s plans to penetrate markets in Africa, the UK, the USA, and the Middle East. The company’s focus on expanding its reach and developing new collaborations exhibits its dedication to enhancing financial inclusion on a global scale altogether.

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“Our mission is to create the world’s largest repository of alternative consumer data to grow financial inclusion,” said Jon Jacobson, co-founder of Omnisient. “The investment from Arise will enable us to expand and partner with larger data providers. This will allow banks and insurers to extend financial services to millions more people globally, driving financial inclusion on an unprecedented scale.”

“This investment aligns with our vision of using cutting-edge fintechs to drive growth in Africa’s financial services sector,” said Gavin Tipper, CEO of Arise. “Omnisient’s technology will assist banks and data providers in identifying new customers, unlocking new revenue streams, and will foster financial inclusion,” he added.

The round remains open, and Omnisient is evaluating strategic partnerships for the US market and the retail media space.