Tyme Group, a South African-born fintech working within the African nation and the Philippines, has secured $250 million in a Collection D spherical, pushing its valuation to $1.5 billion. The funding was led by Nu Holdings (which owns NuBank), Latin America’s most useful fintech, which invested $150 million for a ten% stake. M&G Catalyst Fund chipped in $50 million whereas current shareholders offered the remaining $50 million.
Based in 2019, the Singapore-based Tyme Group operates a hybrid digital banking mannequin that mixes on-line banking with bodily service touchpoints. The corporate focuses on constructing and scaling digital banks in rising markets; its South African model, TymeBank, has been a key driver of its progress, whereas GoTyme within the Philippines—launched in 2022 in partnership with native conglomerate Gokongwei Group—marked its entry into Asia. The corporate now serves 15 million prospects and plans to broaden additional into Vietnam and Indonesia subsequent yr.
Tyme stays majority-owned by Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital (ARC), which retains a 40% stake within the fintech. Final yr, the fintech raised $77.8 million in a pre-Collection C spherical, backed by Tencent, Blue Earth Capital, and Norrsken22.
The most recent funding, which takes Tyme’s complete increase to over $400 million, marks a notable restoration in investor curiosity in fintechs after a slowdown attributable to rising international rates of interest. Tyme joins Nigeria’s Moniepoint as one of many African fintechs to realize unicorn standing this yr.
Clearly, Nubank’s funding in Tyme Group aligns with its broader technique to diversify geographically and faucet into the expansion potential of rising markets outdoors Latin America, albeit not organically. Whereas the biggest digital banking platform outdoors Asia has cemented itself as a dominant participant in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, with over 100 million prospects, its core markets have gotten more and more aggressive and saturated with the likes of Neon and C6 gaining market share.
Increasing into Asia and Africa—areas the place digital monetary companies are nonetheless underpenetrated—presents Nubank an opportunity to duplicate its playbook in markets with comparable dynamics: giant unbanked populations, rising smartphone adoption, and rising demand for accessible monetary merchandise.
This isn’t Nubank’s first transfer outdoors its dwelling turf. In 2021, the corporate invested within the Indian neobank Jupiter.
“Nubank revolutionized monetary companies and having them as a shareholder will assist construct rapport to our mannequin, execution and growth plans, each financially and thru enterprise counsel,” stated Coen Jonker, chairman and co-founder of Tyme. “We’re targeted on enhancing the monetary lives of tens of millions of individuals in our area, and we’re energized by this spherical of investments to maintain pushing ahead.”
Tyme, which presents checking and financial savings accounts with debit playing cards and credit score through purchase now, pay later, has raised over $400 million in buyer deposits and prolonged over $600 million in finance to small companies throughout South Africa and the Phillippines.
