TYME Group, the multi-country digital banking group based in Singapore with 15 million customers across Africa and Southeast Asia, announced that Nubank (Nu), a New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listed digital bank with 110 million customers and a market capitalization of over US$57 billion, led its Series D capital raise.
Having completed its latest investment round, Tyme Group achieved unicorn status after securing a total of US$250 million in new money leading to a post-money valuation of US$1.5 billion. Tyme’s oversubscribed Series D capital raise was led by Nu, which invested US$150 million, with M&G’s Catalyst Fund subscribing for US$50 million. Existing shareholders, including the Gokongwei Group, Tencent, British international Investment (BII), Norrsken 22, Blue Earth, Lavender Hill, Ethos Fund, and Africa Fig Tree (Founders and Employees), are investing a further US$50 million.
This means that Nu’s investment in Tyme Group, a major shareholder in GoTyme Bank, will benefit GoTyme Bank Philippines and TymeBank South Africa, will bring not only capital to support growth but also expertise in lending solutions and impact product creation.
The Tyme Group’s partnership with Nu is a vote of confidence from the most successful digital bank in the world with Nu founder and CEO David Vélez sharing the investment rationale, “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 extremely well-positioned to be one of the digital bank leaders 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.”
“Nubank revolutionized financial services and having them as a shareholder will help accelerate the development of our strategic capabilities, execution, and expansion plans in Southeast Asia, through their investment of financial resources and counsel. This is a moment of great significance for Tyme Group,” says Coen Jonker, Tyme Group founder and CEO, when asked to share his thoughts on the strategic partnership.
Ready for the next chapter
GoTyme Bank, the fastest-growing bank in the Philippines, was recently ranked number one in customer experience in two independent surveys, namely, the Singapore Economic Development Board’s and Forrester’s. The partnership between Tyme and Nu brings additional resources and expertise to GoTyme Bank, positioning the company to propel its growth.
GoTyme Bank CEO Nate Clarke, for his part, shared his excitement with the Nu investment. “From the first meeting with David and Nu over a year ago, there has been great strategic and cultural alignment between the two teams. We believe this partnership accelerates our path to becoming the largest and most loved retail bank in the Philippines.”
Meanwhile, Lance Gokongwei, JG Summit president and CEO, adds, “We are excited with the partnership with Nubank, a global digital banking leader, as we believe this collaboration will further propel GoTyme Bank in the Philippines as well as accelerate Tyme Group’s growth and expansion across multiple markets.”