The Shoprite Group has joined a group of companies, led by Buffet Investments and KLT, to invest in South African data-collaboration platform provider Omnisient. 

Omnisient enables businesses “to use consumption data in a secure, compliant and risk-free manner to create new revenue streams”, says the retail group.

“Thanks to their bank-grade encryption technology, customers’ data is anonymised and protected at all times. Personally identifiable information is also never shared.”

“We are excited by local startups that are creating value for our customers and partner businesses, whilst having privacy at the core of their offering,” says Neil Schreuder, chief of strategy and innovation at ShopriteX, the retail group’s data and customer technology unit that has been working with Omnisient for the past year. 

“As a data-rich organisation, 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.” 

Shoprite says it is increasingly looking at partnerships in its ecosystem, and especially with innovative small businesses. Aimed at the vast number of unbanked customers throughout Africa, Shoprite, for example, 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 believes it will be able to use customer data to better understand and identify opportunities “to create more value for its customers”.  

Apart from Buffet Investments and KLT, Shoprite joined follow-on investors One5, ENL, and early shareholders Investec and Nedbank in their investment in Omnisient.  

“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,” says Omnisient CEO and co-founder Jon Jacobson.