TransUnion joins forces with Omnisient on data expansion

TransUnion’s investment in Omnisient aims to scale the use of privacy-preserving alternative data to expand credit access and financial inclusion across Africa.

TransUnion has announced a minority investment and strategic partnership with Omnisient, a South Africa-founded fintech that operates internationally with a privacy-preserving data collaboration and analytics platform. The move aims to accelerate the integration of alternative data to support financial inclusion and expand access to credit across Africa. As part of the agreement, a TransUnion representative will join Omnisient’s board of directors.

According to Lee Naik, CEO of TransUnion Africa, the platform allows multiple clients to test and analyse diverse data sets simultaneously without exchanging personal data, enabling faster development of market-relevant products. He added that traditional credit models often overlook the realities of African consumers, and that integrating alternative data is essential to closing the credit gap for underserved communities.

Omnisient’s co-founder and CEO, Jon Jacobson, explained that their platform enables banks and brands to discover and validate new sources of consumer data while maintaining privacy through tokenisation, helping financial institutions make more informed and secure lending decisions.

With nearly 500 million Africans still excluded from the formal financial system, TransUnion sees this partnership as a step forward in building inclusive digital economies by responsibly scaling alternative data.

Global demand is also rising for alternative data solutions that preserve privacy, build trust, and unlock new value. Omnisient’s platform addresses this need with tokenised data keys that protect personal information throughout the process, enabling secure collaboration without sharing raw data. As a provider of secure, many-to-many data connectivity between banks, financial institutions, and third-party sources, the company is playing a key role in reshaping how alternative data is used across Africa.