Tyme Raises $77.8 Million to Grow South Africa, Philippines Operations

Digital banking group Tyme has raised $77.8 million in a pre-Series C capital raise.

The Singapore-headquartered firm will use the new funding to continue growing its operations in South Africa and the Philippines, to expand in Southeast Asia in the future and to perform a partial buyback, according to a Tuesday (May 23) press release.

The capital raise includes two new investors — Africa-focused tech growth fund Norrsken22 and independent global impact investment firm Blue Earth Capital (BlueEarth) — along with Tyme’s existing shareholders, the release said.

“We are delighted to welcome Norrsken22 and Blue Earth Capital to the group of high-caliber investors who have bought into Tyme’s growth story and its mission to democratize financial services,” Tyme Co-founder and TymeBank CEO Coen Jonker said in the release.

Tyme focuses on emerging markets and operates as TymeBank in South Africa and as GoTyme in the Philippines, according to the release.

Across its two markets, Tyme’s business is adding 300,000 new customers each month, the release said.

It aims to make banking accessible to customers across the economic spectrum by offering a hybrid model of digital banking and physical service that is affordable and accessible, per the release.

“BlueEarth is excited about backing Tyme’s innovative, retail partnership model which enables affordable access to first-class banking products to all consumers, including those most vulnerable or living in remote locations,” BlueEarth Principal of Funds and Co-Investments David Moore said in the release.

Being able to access banking services in a physical location — rather than only online — is a much-needed resource for consumers in emerging markets, Jonker told PYMNTS in an interview posted in September.

Many people are wary of opening an account at a full-service online bank, so TymeBank operates more than 1,000 kiosks in retail outlets across South Africa as a key part of its hybrid approach, Jonker said.

Tyme’s latest funding round comes more than two years after a February 2021 Series B in which it raised $110 million.

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