Profitable African Digital Bank Plots Going Public In USD 15 B IPO

South African-born digital bank GoTyme has accelerated its timeline for a potential public listing, with executives now targeting a three-to-four-year window for an initial public offering that could value the Motsepe-backed fintech at as much as USD 15 B.

The shift in timeline marks a significant departure from the bank’s previous guidance of a listing sometime before 2030, Chief Executive Officer Cheslyn Jacobs said in recent remarks, as the lender adds about 450,000 new customers per month across its South African and Philippine operations.

GoTyme, valued at USD 1.5 B in a Series D round in December 2024 led by Brazil’s Nubank, now counts more than 21 million customers globally and describes itself as Africa’s first profitable standalone digital bank. The lender is majority-owned by Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital Investments and also counts Tencent Holdings among its backers.

“The last number was USD 1.5 B—10x it. It would be lovely to list at USD 15 B. Wouldn’t that be amazing?” Jacobs said, while declining to provide an updated valuation ahead of the bank posting what he called a record profit for the year through June.

The lender is taking preparatory steps well ahead of any IPO. This month, GoTyme extended share ownership to all 2,000 employees globally, with Jacobs saying the goal is for staff to “behave like owners” as the bank remains in a hyper-growth phase.

Still, Jacobs struck a cautious note on timing, saying the bank would move forward only when conditions are right. “What we’ve realised is you struggle to predict these things, so now we talk about being listing-ready from a timeline perspective in three to four years from now. But we’re only going to do it if it makes sense,” he said.

A potential listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange would add a major fintech name to an exchange that has seen renewed tech activity. Dubai-based Optasia raised USD 345 M in a November IPO that gave the AI-lending platform a USD 1.4 B market capitalisation, while the JSE’s primary markets head has flagged a robust pipeline of listings through 2026.

The bank’s Philippines business, operated through a joint venture with the Gokongwei Group, has been a primary driver of growth, with the lender recently surpassing 9 million users in the market and targeting 12 million by the end of the year.

Jacobs said GoTyme would consider a listing anywhere globally closer to when it reaches 50 million clients “with the right kind of valuation”.