Nubank leads $250M round in African digital bank Tyme at $1.5B valuation
Tyme Group, a South African-born fintech operating in the African country and the Philippines, has secured $250 million in a Series D round, pushing its valuation to $1.5 billion. The funding was led by Nu Holdings (which owns NuBank), Latin America’s most valuable fintech, which invested $150 million for a 10% stake. M&G Catalyst Fund chipped in $50 million while existing shareholders provided the remaining $50 million.
Founded in 2019, the Singapore-based Tyme Group operates a hybrid digital banking model that combines online banking with physical service touchpoints. The company, which now serves 15 million customers, focuses on building and scaling digital banks in emerging markets. Its South African brand, TymeBank, has been a key driver of its growth, while GoTyme in the Philippines—launched in 2022 in partnership with local conglomerate Gokongwei Group—marked its entry into Asia. The company plans to expand further into Vietnam next year.
Tyme remains majority-owned by Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital (ARC), which retains a 40% stake in the fintech. Last year, the fintech raised $77.8 million in a pre-Series C round, backed by Tencent, Blue Earth Capital, and Norrsken22.
The latest funding marks a notable recovery in investor interest for fintechs after a slowdown caused by rising global interest rates. Tyme joins Nigeria’s Moniepoint as one of the African fintechs to achieve unicorn status this year.
For Nubank, the largest digital banking platform outside Asia with over 100 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia—and $2.7 billion in Q1 revenues—the investment signals its ambitions to extend beyond Latin America. By backing Tyme, Nubank is positioning itself to capture growth in emerging markets, particularly in Africa and Asia, where digital banking adoption is accelerating.
“Nubank revolutionized 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,” said Coen Jonker, chairman and co-founder of Tyme. “We are focused on improving the financial lives of millions of people in our region, and we are energized by this round of investments to keep pushing forward.”
