ClarifiedBy… Data Quality

Back in 2017, The Economist famously claimed that "data is the new oil." Whether or not that comparison has stood the test of time, one thing is clear: data continues to be one of the most valuable assets a business can possess. In today’s fast-moving digital economy, high-quality data fuels decision-making across strategic, operational, and tactical levels.¹

Fast forward to now, and the conversation around data has thankfully evolved. We're no longer obsessed with the sheer volume of data – big data for its own sake. It’s become increasingly clear that having vast quantities of data is not the same as having valuable data. Without structure, consistency, and context, data can become a burden rather than a benefit.

That’s where data quality becomes a true differentiator. Businesses that invest in clean, connected, and curated data – supported by AI, machine learning and advanced analytics – gain faster, sharper insights and a more meaningful competitive edge. 

At Diligencia, data quality has always been at the heart of what we do. Through our platform ClarifiedBy, we go beyond simply collecting information. We focus on authenticity, sourcing only from official channels, and on usability, ensuring our datasets are structured and presented in ways that make them immediately useful to our clients. 

Rather than scraping inconsistent data from disparate sources and leaving users to sort out the truth, we’ve developed a more refined approach – one that values precision and transparency. 

Every company and individual profile published on ClarifiedBy must pass approximately 40 internal validation tests. These are designed to uphold three key principles: 

• Completeness: We classify each organisation profiles based on the level of data available. Our Gold profiles include all key registry data – such as directors, shareholders, and company identifiers
• Integrity: From the obvious (e.g. shareholdings must not exceed 100%) to more nuanced rules (e.g. sole proprietorships can’t have multiple shareholders), our data must stand up to scrutiny.
• De-duplication: Eliminating duplicates is especially challenging in a multilingual environment where names may be transliterated or translated in different ways. Yet it's essential for accuracy, especially when visualising complex ownership structures in our network diagrams. 

As our dataset continues to grow – and as we develop new tools and insights from that data – maintaining rigorous quality standards is more important than ever. To return to The Economist’s metaphor: why settle for crude data, when you can access the refined product? 

Design, user interface, and accessibility are also vital components of our approach. Ensuring that our users can access the information they need quickly and easily is critical to delivering the best possible user journey. A well-considered, intuitive interface – combined with inclusive design principles – helps ensure that our platform remains both effective and accessible to a diverse range of users. 

If you are interested in learning more about ClarifiedBy or have any questions related to due diligence or corporate intelligence in the Middle East or Africa, we’d be happy to help. Just drop us a line.