JG Summit Holdings Inc., the holding firm of the Gokongwei Group, on Tuesday said it acquired a minority stake in South African digital bank Tyme, as the group forays into the financial technology sector.
JG Summit said it has taken part in an estimated P5.3 billion or about $110 million total investment in Tyme, along with Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners LLP and South African investment holdings company African Rainbow Capital.
The company did not say how much it invested in Tyme.
Tyme has an international management arm called TymeGlobal and is headquartered in Singapore. The bank claims to be the leading digital banking network for emerging markets, and is majority owned by ARC.
The capital raised will be primarily deployed to grow TymeBank in South Africa, which has attracted 2.8 million customers to its digital banking platform since its launch in February 2019.
It is reportedly one of the largest foreign investments any fintech company has secured in South Africa.
“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,” said JG Summit President and CEO Lance Y. Gokongwei.
“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.”
Through its corporate venture capital vehicle, JG Digital Equity Ventures (JGDEV), the Gokongwei Group reinforces its foray into global innovations and Fintech as part of its vision of becoming one of the biggest digital conglomerates in the country and in Asean.
With Tyme in its portfolio of investments, the company said it will have a deeper understanding of the success of digital banking in developing economies, such as South Africa, with the aim of replicating it in a similar setting such as the Philippines.
JG Summit said it plans to bring Tyme’s digital experience and innovation to the Philippines.
Established in 2019, JGDEV’s current portfolio includes iPrice, Southeast Asia’s leading shopping companion that offers consumers a catalog of 5 billion products; digital procurement tool Growsari targeted toward digitalizing local neighborhood retail or sari-sari stores; all-in-on hotel operating system Zuzu; virtual logistics platform Zyllem; and consumer data analytics tool Snapcart.
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