Tyme Group, the digital banking group controlled by South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe, has achieved unicorn status with a valuation of $1.5 billion (R27 billion) after a $250 million funding round. This makes it one of Africa’s few unicorns.
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The funding round included a significant $150 million investment from Nu Holdings, Latin America’s most valuable financial company and parent of Nubank, the world’s largest standalone digital bank with over 110 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Tyme CEO and co-founder Coenraad Jonker described the investment as “a unique vote of confidence” from a global industry leader. He explained that Nubank, lacking plans for organic growth in Southeast Asia, is strategically investing in Tyme as its entry point into both Southeast Asia and Africa.
M&G’s Catalyst fund contributed $50 million, with existing shareholders, including Tencent Holdings, Gokongwei Group, and Norrsken22, adding a further $50 million. Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital Investments remains the lead shareholder with a 40% stake, ensuring Tyme retains its status as South Africa’s only Black-owned and Black-controlled commercial bank.
Tyme, headquartered in Singapore, operates as TymeBank in South Africa, where it has over 10 million customers, and in the Philippines through a joint venture with Gokongwei Group, bringing its total customer base to over 15 million. The group has also expanded into Vietnam, offering merchant cash advances, and recently incorporated in Indonesia, where it has begun commercial transactions. Chairman Jonker indicated that Tyme is actively pursuing acquisition targets in Indonesia, prepared to invest tens of millions of dollars to secure a banking license.
Jonker outlined Tyme’s strategic priorities: becoming the leading retail bank in the Philippines, followed by replicating that success in Indonesia, a competitive market with established players like Bank Mandiri and Bank Rakyat Indonesia, as well as banks backed by major regional tech companies.
This latest funding round is likely Tyme’s last before an anticipated initial public offering by the end of 2028. Jonker stated that the focus for the next three to four years will be on customer service, operational excellence, and positioning the business for listing, including achieving a return on equity above 30% in South Africa. This milestone for Tyme highlights renewed investor confidence in the fintech sector after recent global interest rate fluctuations.
