Apis Growth Fund II invests in Tyme bank
Tyme, a digital banking network for emerging markets, announced its $110 million series B capital raise from its new Singapore headquarters, bringing foreign investment into South Africa for TymeBank and laying the foundation for Tyme’s expansion across ASEAN, starting with the Philippines.
The new investors in Tyme are Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners, and the Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings of the Philippines. Both these investors are experienced in financial services in emerging markets. Apis is a private equity asset manager that supports growth stage financial services and financial infrastructure businesses. The Gokongwei family owns and operates one of the largest and best-known conglomerates in the Philippines, JG Summit Holdings, through which they have invested in Tyme.
The investment, which will be primarily deployed to grow TymeBank in South Africa, is one of the largest foreign investments any fintech company has secured in South Africa. This investment, negotiated completely virtually, represents a strong endorsement for TymeBank as one of the world’s fastest growing digital banks and for the South Africa banking sector overall. In less than two years from its launch in February 2019, TymeBank has attracted 2.8 million customers to the platform and is already rated the number two bank in the country by customers.
With the announcement of the new digital bank framework in the Philippines, JG Summit Holdings and Tyme will apply for a digital bank licence from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to expand financial access to underbanked and under-served Filipinos, using Tyme’s digital banking model that meets customer needs for affordable and widespread financial access.
Commenting on the transaction, Dr Patrice Motsepe, chairman of African Rainbow Capital, which is the majority owner of Tyme said, “As the controlling shareholder in TymeBank, African Rainbow Capital is delighted to have our new co-investors onboard. Equally important, Apis Growth Fund II and the Gokongwei family invest in Tyme at a time when significant uncertainty reigns globally and in South Africa as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The invested amount of $110 million is no small feat – both in terms of drawing investment into South Africa’s financial services sector as well as investing into a fledgling part of the sector in our country. We look forward to a long-term partnership with Apis and the Gokongwei family.”
Lance Gokongwei, president and CEO of JG Summit Holdings commented, “We see digital banking as the next growth area globally and increasingly in ASEAN and so we are excited to partner with global investment giants Apis and ARC in taking part in this global play by building further success for South Africa’s leading digital bank TymeBank. The investment not only propels the Gokongwei Group to accelerate its foray into disruptive digital plays, it also allows us to learn more about TymeBank’s experiences that provide a good impetus for us in considering to apply their technology and success in the Philippines.”
Matteo Stefanel, managing partner of Apis Partners commented, “As an experienced investor in financial services, we are thrilled to partner with the team at TymeBank who have built an exceptional business in a competitive market such as South Africa. We are confident that this investment will accelerate TymeBank’s growth and already impressive onboarding figures.”
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