Shoprite Group invests in tech start-up

Shoprite Group, Africa’s largest fast-moving consumer goods retailer invests in Omnisient, Africa’s first privacy-preserving data collaboration platform provider.

Shoprite Group, Africa’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) retailer, has made its second minority investment in a South African tech start-up this year. In the most recent transaction, the Shoprite Group is among a group of companies, led by Buffet Investments and KLT, involved in an undisclosed expansion round in Omnisient, Africa’s first privacy-preserving data collaboration platform provider.

Shoprite: “Local startups are creating value for our customers”

“We are excited by local startups that are creating value for our customers and partner businesses, while having privacy at the core of their offering,” said Neil Schreuder, Chief of Strategy and Innovation at ShopriteX, the Group’s data and customer technology unit, which has been working with Omnisient for the past year.

Using data to create new revenue streams

Omnisient enables businesses to use consumption data in a secure, compliant and risk-free manner to create new revenue streams. Thanks to their bank-grade encryption technology, customers’ data is anonymized and protected at all times. Personally identifiable information is also never shared.

“As a data-rich organization, this investment will enable us to deepen our knowledge and understanding of our customers and their needs so that we can continue to expand on the relevant services we offer them,” said Schreuder.

The Group is increasingly looking at partnerships with innovative small businesses within their ecosystem. Aiming at the vast number of unbanked customers throughout Africa, Shoprite recently became the first South African retailer to launch a fully-fledged transactional bank account as part of its Money Market offering.

In partnership with Omnisient, Shoprite will be able to use customer data to better understand and identify opportunities to create more value and improve financial inclusion for its customers.

Geographic expansion

“This round of investment will be used to support our continued geographic expansion, as well as the ongoing development of our platform into the world’s leading source of consumer intelligence that fully complies with global consumer privacy regulations,” said Jon Jacobson, co-founder and CEO of Omnisient.

South Africa is one of Africa’s “Big Four”, along with Nigeria, Egypt and Kenya, with regards to tech investment.