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TransUnion Africa Appoints Michael Rogers as Chief Product Officer to Accelerate Client-Centric Innovation

Location: Business

TransUnion Africa, a global information and insights company, today announced the appointment of Michael (Mike) Rogers as Vice President (VP) and Chief Product Officer (CPO), effective 15 January 2026.

Rogers brings more than two decades of technology leadership, digital transformation, and product innovation experience across key African markets, including Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda, Namibia, Zambia, eSwatini, South Africa, and Malawi. His appointment underscores TransUnion’s commitment to developing market‑relevant, scalable solutions that enable organisations across Africa to grow responsibly, manage risk, and broaden access to financial services.

Most recently, Rogers served at Mastercard, where he led consulting engagement across the continent, developing new solutions for the payments ecosystem and driving performance for banking, fintech and digital commerce clients.

Prior to Mastercard, Rogers was Chief Executive Officer of Tarsus Technology Solutions, where he integrated multiple technology businesses spanning cybersecurity, infrastructure and networking and led group-wide digital transformation. He spent 18 years at Accenture, building and scaling technology consulting practices in South Africa, and was the first South African to attain Accenture’s Master Technology Architect certification.

In his new role, Rogers will lead TransUnion Africa’s end‑to‑end product strategy, with responsibility for advancing the product portfolio and strengthening sector‑specific solutions across banking, fintech, insurance, retail, automotive, telecommunications and digital commerce. His focus includes enhancing core credit and risk offerings, accelerating the responsible use of alternative data, and expanding fraud, identity and advanced analytics capabilities to meet evolving market needs.

Working closely with regional and global teams, Rogers will ensure TransUnion’s products are locally relevant, compliant and scalable across diverse African regulatory environments. A key priority will be simplifying product adoption and enhancing decisioning outcomes, enabling clients to more effectively acquire, serve and protect consumers in increasingly digital and data‑driven markets, while supporting inclusive growth across the continent.

Lee Naik, CEO and Regional President for TransUnion Africa, commented: “Mike brings an exceptional blend of technology, product and leadership experience, with a deep understanding of how data-driven products create commercial and social impact.  His appointment strengthens our ability to market-relevant solutions that help clients manage risk, grow responsibly and extend access to financial services across Africa.”

Rogers added: “TransUnion Africa sits at the intersection of trust, data and technology. My focus is to simplify adoption, improve decisioning quality and deliver products that create tangible value – helping our clients acquire, serve and protect customers in increasingly digital ecosystems. I am excited to partner with our teams and clients to bring the next generation of solutions to market.”

Read moreTransUnion Africa Appoints Michael Rogers as Chief Product Officer to Accelerate Client-Centric Innovation

Emakhazeni’s Smart Meter Chaos

Location: News

Residents of the Emakhazeni Local Municipality (Belfast, Machadodorp, Dullstroom, Waterval Boven) are experiencing serious financial and other hardships due to the flawed roll-out of new smart electricity meters. The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) is aware of numerous complaints about prepaid units running out too fast, and power being disconnected suddenly and without any warning. […]

The post Emakhazeni should explain smart meter chaos appeared first on Freedom Front Plus.

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The Cost of Racial Targets Becomes Clear When a Mere 13 000 Vaccines for 15 Million Cattle Gets Government Jumping for Joy

Location: News

(Dr Wynand Boshoff, Freedom Front Plus MP and chief spokesperson on agriculture, provides an overview of factors that contributed to the development of the current foot-and-mouth disease crisis) If anything underscores the inadequacy of government’s response to the foot-and-mouth disease crisis, it is last week’s proud announcement that the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) was able […]

The post The cost of racial targets becomes clear when a mere 13 000 vaccines for 15 million cattle gets government jumping for joy appeared first on Freedom Front Plus.

Read moreThe Cost of Racial Targets Becomes Clear When a Mere 13 000 Vaccines for 15 Million Cattle Gets Government Jumping for Joy

New Telco-Powered Credit Score Set to Transform Access to Finance for Millions of South Africans

Location: Business
  • TransUnion Africa, MTN and its digital platform business, Chenosis, are collaborating to harness mobile network data, setting a new standard for financial inclusion and responsible lending
  • A new alternative scoring solution, powered by Call Data Records (CDR), will help millions of financially excluded South Africans gain access to credit
  • By incorporating non-traditional data based on consumer consent, lenders can make more accurate and fair credit decisions, reducing risk while increasing approval rates

TransUnion Africa, in partnership with MTN and Chenosis, has launched CreditVision® Telco Data Score, a first-of-its-kind credit scoring solution that uses mobile phone call data records to help millions of South Africans with limited or no formal credit history gain access to financial services.

This alternative data scoring model leverages Call Data Records (CDR), which reflect patterns in mobile phone network usage behaviour and correlates it to an individual’s financial behaviour. By using telco data as a proxy for financial reliability, the CreditVision Telco Data Score enables lenders to accurately assess New-to-Credit (NTC) consumers and expand access to safe, affordable credit.

Helping the Financially Excluded

According to TransUnion estimates, over 1.4 million credit-invisible South Africans open new credit accounts each year, contributing to more than four million new accounts over the past three years. Yet traditional scoring models often fail to assess this segment accurately, leaving more than 16 million adults outside the formal credit system.

Approximately 35% of New-to-Credit consumers are under the age of 25, many of whom are new to the workforce and often use credit to buy clothing for work, highlighting the need for innovative tools that support younger, digitally active individuals who may lack a conventional credit footprint. Successfully integrating these and other excluded consumers into the economy could add approximately R173 billion1 to South Africa's GDP.

“With over 500 million2 people across the continent excluded from formal financial systems, the scale of the challenge is undeniable. Traditional data models fail to reflect the realities of African consumers, leaving millions without access to credit and the opportunities it enables. Financial inclusion isn’t just part of our mission, it’s our mandate,” said Lee Naik, CEO of TransUnion Africa. “That’s why we believe the only way forward is to think differently, to lead with bold, African-born solutions. Innovations like CreditVision Telco Data Score, designed for Africa, by Africa, are helping us responsibly harness mobile data at scale. In doing so, we’re not only expanding access to credit, but we’re also unlocking economic potential, accelerating inclusive growth, and reshaping the future of finance across the continent.”

Creating Opportunity with Consent and Compliance

The use of CDR data is subject to explicit consumer consent and is managed in compliance with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). MTN is responsible for consent management and will ensure that Chenosis, MTN’s API marketplace, facilitates the connection between MTN’s data ecosystem and partners like TransUnion in a secure and scalable manner.

“This partnership demonstrates how mobile technology and secure data sharing can support positive change in the financial sector and unlock new opportunities for millions of South Africans,” said Selorm Adadevoh, Group Chief Commercial Officer, MTN Group. “We are committed to ensuring that data is used responsibly, with the customer’s interests at the forefront. This is a model of what responsible innovation can look like.”

Empowering Lenders and Growing the Economy

For lenders, the CreditVision Telco Data Score has demonstrated a 25–35% improvement in predictive performance over previous alternative data models, based on recent pre-launch validations across the retail and banking sectors.

By adopting CreditVision Telco Data Score, lenders can better predict user behaviour and support responsible lending by ensuring that credit users at risk of default are not overexposed and can be effectively supported throughout their credit journey.

Importantly, the product also helps New-to-Credit consumers establish and build their credit footprint over time. According to TransUnion data, low-risk individuals significantly increase their credit exposure within 18 months of becoming credit active, underscoring the long-term benefits of responsible financial inclusion strategies.

“With Chenosis, we enable collaboration between mobile operators and solution providers while maintaining high security and compliance standards,” said Waseem Amra, Head of Products and Platforms, Chenosis. “This partnership highlights how secure data access can support innovation in financial services that can transform lives.”

This partnership between TransUnion Africa, MTN, and Chenosis reflects the growing trend of using diverse data sources to create more accurate and inclusive financial access. Integrating mobile network insights into credit scoring provides a practical and scalable way to reach more individuals, while maintaining high standards of privacy and compliance.

“With this inclusive innovation, TransUnion has taken the lead in creating an impactful solution to one of the continent’s most pressing challenges – finding responsible pathways to greater financial inclusion that will unlock opportunities for individual and national growth. By turning mobile data into meaningful opportunity, we have set the standard in making transformation possible by showing how technology can be used in groundbreaking alternative ways. Together with MTN and Chenosis, we are building a future where every South African, regardless of their financial history, has the chance to be seen, to be trusted, and to thrive,” Naik concluded. “When financial institutions can measure risk more effectively, they can lend more confidently, and more consumers can access opportunity, and that’s a win for everyone.”

1. Based on TransUnion’s modelling and interpretation of economic market dynamics. 2. Source: The Global Findex Database 2021

Read moreNew Telco-Powered Credit Score Set to Transform Access to Finance for Millions of South Africans

Foot-And-Mouth Disease Out of Control

Location: News

While the economy is slowing down and South Africans look forward to spending the festive season with family, livestock farmers face a bleak festive season as foot-and-mouth disease causes massive financial losses. The Department of Agriculture is dragging its feet with enforcing legislation while more and more farmers are struggling to keep their heads above […]

The post Foot-and-mouth disease out of control: Dark times ahead for livestock farmers appeared first on Freedom Front Plus.

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TransUnion Announces Minority Investment and Strategic Partnership with Omnisient to Accelerate Alternative Data Adoption

Location: Business

TransUnion today announced a minority investment and broader strategic partnership with Omnisient, a South Africa-founded FinTech operating internationally that offers a privacy-preserving data collaboration and advanced analytics platform. The Omnisient platform empowers businesses to safely access high-value consumer data ecosystems and rapidly integrate alternative data sets to drive intelligent decision-making. As part of the investment, a TransUnion representative will join Omnisient’s board of directors.

“The Omnisient platform allows multiple clients to use built-in advanced analytical tools to simultaneously evaluate the utility of diverse data sets, identifying those that deliver measurable value. Through this collaboration, TransUnion expects to gain access to a broader range of alternative data sources and privacy preservation capabilities. By accelerating the integration of high-impact data into our ecosystem, we intend to enhance existing solutions and develop new, market-relevant products that better meet the evolving needs of our customers,” said Lee Naik, Regional President/ CEO of TransUnion Africa. 

“Traditional data models often fail to reflect the lived realities of African consumers, leaving millions without access to credit and the opportunities it enables,” said Naik. “Financial inclusion is central to unlocking economic growth across the continent. That’s why we’re committed to leading with bold, African-born solutions designed to see the unseen and serve the credit invisible by integrating alternative data sets alongside traditional credit data in ways that reflect uniquely African contexts and realities. By incorporating non-traditional indicators of financial behaviour, this approach broadens access to credit and helps us reach more underserved communities. We believe accelerating the adoption of alternative data is critical to closing the credit gap at scale, enabling faster, fairer and more inclusive access to financial services for millions across the continent."

“Our privacy-preserving data collaboration platform brings financial services and consumer brands together, allowing them to discover, validate and commercialise new alternative sources of consumer behavioural and transactional data without having to exchange sensitive personal information,” said Jon Jacobson, co-founder and group CEO of Omnisient. “This data allows financial institutions to make better risk decisions with more confidence and security, unlocking the potential to grow financial inclusion for hundreds of millions of people around the world.”

This collaboration marks a natural progression in TransUnion’s strategy to expand financial inclusion across Africa. By leveraging privacy-enabled alternative data sets through Omnisient’s platform, TransUnion intends to strengthen its ability to help address the challenge of bringing an estimated 500 million* financially excluded Africans into the formal financial ecosystem. By responsibly harnessing alternative data at scale, TransUnion sees the opportunity to bring millions of new-to-credit and credit-underserved consumers across Africa into the financial mainstream. This enables individuals to begin building a credit profile, many for the first time, laying the foundation for long-term economic empowerment. It’s a powerful demonstration of TransUnion’s commitment to using Information for Good® to drive measurable impact at scale: expanding access to credit, unlocking economic potential and reshaping the future of finance across Africa.

Global demand is rising for alternative data solutions that protect privacy, build trust and unlock value. Omnisient’s platform meets this need with technology that enables secure, privacy-preserving data collaboration. Instead of transferring raw data, Omnisient uses tokenised keys to represent personal information in the data set, ensuring privacy is maintained throughout the process. As a leading provider in Africa of secure, many-to-many data connectivity between banks, financial institutions and third-party sources, Omnisient is driving innovation in data collaboration.

*Source: The Global Findex Database 2021

Read moreTransUnion Announces Minority Investment and Strategic Partnership with Omnisient to Accelerate Alternative Data Adoption

Gauteng’s Future Hangs in the Balance

Location: News

(Debate in the Gauteng Legislature on the Department of Agriculture’s annual report) Gauteng’s future could be bleak if the province does not take urgent and decisive action to address the growing agricultural and environmental crisis. The latest annual reports of the Departments of Environmental Affairs and Agriculture and Rural Development confirm the scale of the […]

The post Gauteng’s future hangs in the balance: Agriculture and environmental crisis warrants immediate intervention appeared first on Freedom Front Plus.

Read moreGauteng’s Future Hangs in the Balance

South Africa’s Automotive Market Accelerates to 11-Year High as Value Brands and Younger Buyers Drive Momentum

Location: Business
  • 111 697 new passenger vehicles sold in Q3 – up 23.4% year-on-year, the highest quarterly total since 2014
  • Chinese brands captured a record 15%+ market share, growing almost nine times faster than the market average
  • Passenger-vehicle exports rebounded 4.1% year-on-year, powered by a 63.7% September surge to a six-year high

South Africa’s automotive market shifted into top gear in the third quarter of 2025, posting its strongest sales performance in more than a decade as greater macro-economic stability, easing interest rates and a firmer rand supported renewed consumer demand. According to TransUnion’s Q3 2025 Mobility Insights Report, total new-passenger-vehicle sales reached 111 697 units, 23.4% higher year-on-year (YoY), while new vehicle inflation dropped to a record low of 1.5% (since tracking began in 2008), creating one of the most competitive pricing environments in recent memory.

“Affordability and choice are redefining South Africa’s automotive landscape,” says Lee Naik, CEO TransUnion Africa. “Consumers are seeking greater value and flexibility and manufacturers that meet this demand through innovation and pricing discipline are winning the race for growth.”

Affordability Drives Record Growth and Market Realignment

Although established OEMs returned to positive growth in Q2 and Q3 2025, the market’s transformation is being led by Chinese manufacturers expanding nearly nine times faster than the overall market, with YoY growth of 89% in Q2 and 88% in Q3.

Their combined share has quadrupled since 2021 to more than 15%, powered by competitively priced, feature-rich SUVs and sedans that appeal to cost-conscious yet tech-savvy buyers. Top-performing value brands YoY included JAC (67% volume increase), GWM (54%), Mahindra (42%) and Chery (35%), while BMW (27%) proved that premium marques can still thrive by combining desirability with strong product pipelines.

“This isn’t a short-term surge, it’s a structural reset,” adds Naik. “The success of value-driven models shows how affordability, technology and trust are now the true levers of brand growth in South Africa.”

Younger and High-Income Buyers Sustain Demand

Despite surging sales, TransUnion’s recent Consumer Pulse Survey shows a modest easing in purchase intent, with the share of respondents likely to buy a vehicle in the next three months declining from 19% in Q2 to 17% in Q3. The report suggests that current sales momentum is being driven primarily by pent-up demand, dealer incentives and fleet renewals, rather than broad-based consumer confidence.

Purchase behaviour also remains sharply segmented across both age and income groups. Younger consumers continue to lead intent, with 21% of Gen Z and 19% of Millennials planning to buy a vehicle in the next three months, compared to 13% of Gen X and 8% of Baby Boomers. From an income perspective, high-income households earning R200 000 or more per month show the strongest intent at 34%, while middle- and lower-income consumers remain significantly more cautious in their purchasing outlook.

Electrification: A Tale of Price and Generation

Internal-combustion vehicles (ICE) remain the single largest category in consumer purchase intent, accounting for 42% of consumer preference, while interest in hybrid (39%) and plug-in hybrid (24%) models is steadily increasing. The shift toward electrification is most pronounced among Gen Z consumers, with 55% favouring hybrids and 32% considering battery-electric vehicles (BEVs).

This generational shift toward greener technology is evident among high-income buyers, with 75% considering plug-in hybrids, driven primarily by their perceived affordability. In contrast, preference for ICE vehicles remains largely affordability-based among lower-income segments. Higher budgets within affluent households enable greater consideration of hybrid electric (HEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and battery electric vehicles (BEV), reinforcing an emerging “electrification divide.” This dynamic presents a significant opportunity for OEMs and financiers to tailor product offerings and financing strategies to meet the distinct needs of different age and income segments.

Connected Cars: Data Becomes the New Engine

Q3’s Mobility Insights Report special feature, The Connected Road, explores how connected-car technology is transforming mobility. Connectivity is now standard in most post-2015 vehicles, enabling real-time navigation, predictive maintenance, remote access, and advanced safety systems. Yet global data warns of “connectivity fatigue”: Over three quarters (76%) of drivers internationally don’t subscribe to connected services, mainly due to cost.

Naik says: “South Africa has a chance to leapfrog global missteps by focusing on value-adding applications, safer driving, cheaper insurance and smarter maintenance rather than gimmicks.”

Exports Rebound and Dealer Confidence Climbs

Passenger-vehicle unit exports rose 4.1% YoY after a steep Q2 contraction, driven by a 63.7% September surge that lifted shipments to a six-year high. Meanwhile, the RMB/BER Motor Traders Confidence Index advanced to 54, marking its second net-positive reading of 2025 and notably placing it above the neutral 50-point mark, which signals growing dealer optimism amid sustained sales momentum and improving export conditions.

Balancing Value and Transformation

The convergence of affordability, segmentation, electrification, and connectivity signals a pivotal shift in the automotive industry. “The future belongs to brands and financiers that master both the value-driven present and the connected, electrified future,” concludes Naik. “Data-led insight will be the bridge that connects today’s strategies with tomorrow’s innovation

Read the full TransUnion South Africa Q3 2025 Mobility Insights Report here.

Read moreSouth Africa’s Automotive Market Accelerates to 11-Year High as Value Brands and Younger Buyers Drive Momentum