South African digital lender TymeBank has raised $77.8m as Chinese conmglomerate Tencent increases its stake to become the group's third-largest shareholder.
Alongside existing shareholders, the financing also included two new investors, Norrsken22, an African focused tech growth fund, and impact investing firm Blue Earth Capital.
Tencent last joined a $180 million Series B capital raise in December 2021. The current Series C remains ongoing, with more cash from international investors expected before year-end.
The new funding comes as the Singapore-headquartered group’s South African flagship, TymeBank, celebrates its seven million customer milestone this month.
Operating fully off the cloud, using a hybrid digital and physical model, TymeBank has a revenue run rate of over $100m per annum and monthly customer acqusition rate of 300,000 across both South Africa and the Philippines, via its GoTyme joint venture with Gokongwei Group.
The new financing will be utilised to further international expansion in Southeast Asia