Ex-Didata executives invest in digital identity firm

Former Dimension Data executives Allan Cawood and Scott Gibson have invested in Pretoria-based secure identity solutions company Contactable.

The two men have been appointed to the Contactable board, and Gibson has taken up the role of chief commercial officer. The size of the stake and the value of their investment has not been disclosed. Contactable was founded in 2017.

Cawood was CEO of Dimension Data’s Middle East and Africa business for 14 years from 1998 to 2012. After leaving Didata, he focused on the private equity sector to help start-ups. Gibson was CEO of Didata subsidiary Britehouse for 12 years from 2007 to 2015, after which he was appointed head of the group’s global Digital Practice. He left Didata in July 2019 and is an angel investor in a number of start-up enterprises.

Contactable founder and CEO Shaun Strydom said in a statement that Cawood and Gibson will not only be investors in the business but will bring a “wealth of experience” to the company, which, he said, is “well positioned to expand its product and service offerings, further accelerate penetration into the local market, and grow its footprint in Africa and other geographies”.

One of Contactable’s initial funders – in its federated identity and ecosystem platform – was the department of science & technology through the Technology Innovation Agency. Clients today include companies in the telecommunications, financial services, retail, property, insurance and automotive sectors.

“We recently supported the launch of a self-KYC (“know your customer”) solution, as well as a mobile money solution … into the South African telecoms and financial services sectors. It’s also the identity and KYC platform behind a new digital bank to be launched in the US later this year,” said Strydom.  — © 2020 NewsCentral Media