Tyme Group Becomes Africa’s Ninth Unicorn
Tyme Group, one of South Africa’s biggest lenders, has raised $250 million in a Series D round at a $1.5 billion valuation. With this valuation, Tyme has taken the critical step to finally becoming a unicorn and Africa’s ninth one. This development comes two months after the Nigerian outfit, Moniepoint, crossed the billion dollar threshold.
Nu Holdings, the parent company of Latin America’s most valuable Fintech, Nu Bank, led the funding round, investing $150 million for a 10% stake. Nubank’s participation in the deal is part of the bank’s plan to expand outside its Latin American markets. The bank wants to replicate its successes in Latin America by tapping into the growth potential of emerging markets like Africa and South Asia. M&G Catalyst Fund and existing investors also participated in the round, contributing $50 million. The latest funding showcases an investor return to investing in the continent after an initial lull in funding.
Tyme Group was founded in 2019. At present, it has over 15 million customers whom it serves through a hybrid model of online and physical banking, offering checking and savings accounts, dehit cards, and buy-now-pay-later credit. The company boasts of having extended over $600 million in financing to small businesses in South Africa and the Phillipines. TymeBank, its South African subsidiary, revealed its ambitious plans to expand to Indonesia by the end of the year.
The $250 million funding brings Tyme’s total funding to about $600 million. African Rainbow Capital Investments Ltd. will remain Tyme’s lead shareholder with a 40% stake in the business.
Coen Jonker, founder and CEO of Tyme Group, believes that the Nubank partnership brings significant expertise and resources to Tyme, positioning the company well to expand its market presence.
“Nubank has transformed financial services in Brazil. We are excited by the value that Nubank’s thought partnership and advice can bring to Tyme particularly in areas such as data analytics, credit risk management, product development and marketing – levers we believe are key to achieving leadership in our markets. This is a moment of great significance for Tyme.”. Jonker said.
David Vélez, founder and CEO of Nubank, adds: “Since the beginning of Nubank, we have believed that the future of financial services globally is of digitally native companies. We have met dozens of teams across different geographies, and we think that Tyme Group is well-positioned to be a digital
bank leader in Africa and Southeast Asia. We are excited to work with Tyme to share many of our learnings of scaling this model to hundreds of millions of customers.”
Praveg Patil, head of Asia Pacific, impact and private equity at M&G, says: “Investing in innovative companies like Tyme Group is essential for driving financial inclusion in underserved markets. M&G’s Catalyst is able to invest in transformative initiatives that create lasting social impact. Through this investment we are addressing the needs of communities that have traditionally been excluded from the financial system to build a more inclusive financial ecosystem.”
A commonly used term in the venture capital (VC) industry, a unicorn refers to a privately-held company with a value of over $1 billion, according to Investopedia. According to Tyme, there are over 1 400 unicorns globally and only eight recorded in Africa. This latest milestone –underscores Tyme’s market potential and sets the stage for an exciting new era for the group.
