Billionaire Patrice Motsepe's GoTyme Bank eyes $15 billion listing as customer count surpasses 21 million

GoTyme Bank, the digital lender controlled by South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe, has opened share ownership to all 2,000 of its employees as it scales past 21 million customers and sharpens its focus on a future stock market listing.

CEO Cheslyn Jacobs disclosed the employee share scheme at an event in Johannesburg on May 14, saying the bank had already begun running education sessions to walk staff through the mechanics of the program and its potential benefits. "We want our staff to behave like owners," Jacobs said. "This business still is in a hyper-growth phase, so we think this is going to make meaningful differences to our people's lives."

The scheme, valued at more than R100 million (roughly $5.5 million), extends to more than 95% of the bank's global workforce across all levels of the company.

From TymeBank to GoTyme

The employee ownership announcement comes at a meaningful inflection point for the bank. Formerly known as TymeBank, the lender rebranded to GoTyme Bank in January 2026, aligning its name with its international operations. The rebrand came with a new app that attracted more than 1 million customer migrations within weeks of launch and reached the top ranking in South African app stores.

GoTyme is majority-owned by Motsepe's African Rainbow Capital Investments and operates a joint venture in the Philippines with the Gokongwei Group. China's Tencent Holdings is also among its backers, and the bank has operations in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore. It is widely described as Africa's first profitable standalone digital bank.

The lender was valued at $1.5 billion in 2024 following a fundraising round that included a $150 million investment from Nu Holdings, Latin America's largest fintech company. Jacobs declined to give an updated valuation at the Johannesburg event but said the bank is on track to post a record profit for the financial year ending in June.

A $15 billion listing target

The more consequential disclosure from Jacobs involved a possible public listing. He said GoTyme previously committed to listing before the next decade but has since shifted how it frames that goal.

"We've publicly said we want to do this before the next decade, but we do talk about it slightly differently now," Jacobs said. "What we've realized 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 $15 billion listing valuation would be "amazing," a figure that represents 10 times the bank's 2024 valuation. The bank would consider listing on any exchange globally, with Jacobs flagging that the company would likely only move forward once it reaches around 50 million customers.

GoTyme is currently adding about 450,000 new clients per month across South Africa and the Philippines. At that pace, the path to 50 million customers is not a distant prospect.

Growth trajectory

The bank's expansion since its 2019 launch has been steep. It reached 50,000 customers within 2 months of opening and crossed 1 million in its first year. By year two it had 3.5 million customers; by year three, more than 6 million. It now counts more than 21 million across its 2 core markets.

The 2026 product push has been broad. The bank introduced a 10% savings rate, free PayShap payments under R5,000 (roughly $273), and zero charges on international card transactions.

Motsepe's wider footprint

Motsepe, who built his initial fortune in mining before expanding across financial services, energy, and sports administration, remains one of Africa's most active dealmakers. He serves as president of the Confederation of African Football. Through Harmony Gold, of which he is a significant shareholder, Motsepe completed the $1.01 billion acquisition of MAC Copper Limited in Australia in October 2025. African Rainbow Minerals has been pursuing nickel opportunities in Europe.

GoTyme is the consumer-facing arm of that empire, and the one adding customers at a pace that few financial institutions on the continent can match. Whether the bank moves toward a listing in 3 years or stretches that timeline further, the employee scheme announced in Johannesburg signals that Motsepe and Jacobs are preparing the organization internally for whatever comes next.