Tyme Group, the Singapore-based multi-country digital banking group, has on Tuesday announced that it has raised $250 million in Series D funding round led by Brazilian neobank Nubank.

Tyme said in a statement that Nubank has joined its shareholder base through a strategic investment during the raise.

Having completed its latest investment round, Tyme Group has now firmly achieved unicorn status after securing the funding for a total valuation of $1.5 billion.

Tyme’s oversubscribed series D capital raise was led by Nubank, which invested $150 million, with M&G’s Catalyst subscribing for $50 million.

Existing shareholders are investing a further $50 million.

Tyme’s investors include the Founders, African Rainbow Capital, The Ethos AI Fund, Apis Growth Fund II (‘Apis’), Tencent, The Gokongwei Group, British International Investment (BII), Norrsken 22, Blue Earth and Lavender Hill Capital Partners.

According to the statement, the Nubank partnership solidifies Tyme’s position within digital banking and sets the stage for the latter’s growth in Southeast Asia.

This partnership brings significant expertise and resources to Tyme, positioning the company well to expand its market presence.

“Nubank transformed financial services in Brazil. We are excited by the value that Nubank’s thought partnership and advice can bring to Tyme particularly in areas such as data analytics, credit risk management, product development and marketing – levers we believe are key to achieving leadership in our markets,

“This is a moment of great significance for Tyme,” said Coen Jonker, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tyme Group.

David Vélez, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nubank, added that since the beginning of Nubank, the firm has 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 a digital bank leader 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,” he added.

Praveg Patil, Head of Asia Pacific, Impact & Private Equity at M&G, commented that investing in innovative companies like Tyme Group is essential for driving financial inclusion in underserved markets.

“M&G’s Catalyst is able to invest in transformative initiatives that create lasting social impact,

“Through this investment we are addressing the needs of communities that have traditionally been excluded from the financial system to build a more inclusive financial ecosystem,” he added.

Commenting on the Nubank partnership, Patrice Motsepe, Chairperson of major shareholder African Rainbow Capital, said as the long-term strategic shareholder in Tyme, the firm enthusiastically welcomes the partnership with leading global digital bank, Nubank, as it is convinced this will lead to an even higher and significantly accelerated growth trajectory for the multi-country Tyme Group.

Tyme is a multi-country digital banking group focused on serving consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets.

Headquartered in Singapore, with a technology and product development hub in Vietnam, the firm designs, builds, and operates digital banks, with a particular expertise in emerging markets.

Following TymeBank in South Africa, Tyme launched its second digital bank, GoTyme, in the Philippines, in partnership with the Gokongwei Group, in October 2022.

Tyme now serves over 15 million customers across Africa and South-East Asia.

Nu is one of the world’s largest digital financial services platforms, serving 110 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.

#DigitalBanking #FinancialInclusion #EmergingMarkets #StartupFunding #TechInnovation