Tyme Group raises $250 million in Series D round to become Africa’s ninth unicorn

• Tyme Group has become Africa’s ninth unicorn after raising $250 million in Series D round
• Nu Holdings led the funding round, investing $150 million for a 10 per cent stake
• Africa’s unicorns are mainly fintechs

South Africa’s Tyme Group has raised $250 million in a Series D round to reach a $1.5 billion valuation, becoming Africa’s ninth unicorn.

The achievement comes two months after Moniepoint became Africa’s eighth unicorn, reaching the $1 billion threshold after raising $110 million in equity financing.

Nu Holdings, the parent company of Latin America’s most valuable fintech, Nu Bank, led the funding round.

Nu Holdings invested $150 million for a 10 per cent stake. M&G Catalyst Fund and existing investors also participated in the round.

The lender plans an initial public offering by the end of 2028.

The Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Tyme, Coenraad Jonker, noted that the capital raising round demonstrates investors’ confidence in the group’s business as it will assert its place in South Africa’s commercial banking landscape.

Jonker said, “It is a unique vote of confidence in our business by the world leaders in our industry, essentially. Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital Investments will remain Tyme’s lead shareholder with a 40 per cent stake.

“Our status as South Africa’s only black-owned and black-controlled commercial bank actually remains in place.”

He added, “Nubank revolutionised financial services and having them as a shareholder will help build rapport to our model, execution, and expansion plans, both financially and through business counsel.

“We are focused on improving the financial lives of millions of people in our region, and we are energised by this round of investments to keep pushing forward.”

About Tyme Group

Tyme Group, with headquarters in Singapore, was launched in 2019 and operates as TymeBank in South Africa. The group also operates in the Philippines through a joint venture with Gokongwei Group, which launched in 2022.

It operates a hybrid model of online and physical banking. It offers checking and savings accounts, debit cards, and buy-now-pay-later credit.

The company boasts 15 million customers and claims to have extended over $600 million in financing to small businesses in South Africa and the Philippines.

Its South African subsidiary, TymeBank, in August 2024 announced plans to launch in Indonesia by the end of 2024.

The latest $250 million funding increased Tyme’s total funding to about $600 million. African Rainbow Capital Investments Limited has a 40 per cent stake in Tyme and remains its lead shareholder.

Fintechs dominate as Africa’s unicorns

Tyme Group now joins the likes of Interswitch, Opay, Flutterwave, Wave, Andela, Chipper Cash, MNT-Halan, and Moniepoint as Africa’s ninth unicorn.

Nigerian fintech, Moniepoint, raised $110 million in a Series C financing round on October 29, which saw it cross the $1 billion valuation mark.

The round was led by Development Partners International (DPI) and other new investors, including Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Verod Capital. Global impact firm Lightrock, an existing investor, also participated in the funding round.

Africa’s unicorn landscape mainly features fintechs that continue to show resilience and adopt innovative strategies for banking and the provision of other financial services.

Nigeria is also dominant on the list, as most of the unicorns in Africa are either owned by Nigerians or based in Nigeria while continuously expanding to other markets on the continent and beyond.

Interswitch, Flutterwave, Opay, 5 others leading tech boom

Meanwhile, TheRadar reported that Moniepoint recently joined the league of African unicorns, a term that has widely come to be accepted and used by global venture capital and the tech community to mean any privately held tech startup with a $1 billion valuation, irrespective of its founding date, sector of operation and regional focus.

From the pioneering startup, Interswitch, to the newest entrant, Moniepoint, TheRadar spotlighted these eight unicorns.