GoTyme Bank Introduces Plan to Make Every Employee a Shareholder

GoTyme Bank is giving all its employees a direct stake in the company as the digital lender pushes for faster expansion across Africa and Asia.

The fast-growing bank, backed by South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe, confirmed that workers across the business will receive stock options. The move is expected to make employees more connected to the bank’s long-term growth plans.

According to Bloomberg, GoTyme Bank Chief Executive Officer Cheslyn Jacobs announced the decision during an event in Johannesburg on Thursday night.

The bank believes employee ownership could strengthen commitment as competition in digital banking continues rising across emerging markets.

GoTyme Bank pushes deeper into growth

GoTyme Bank has expanded rapidly over the last few years. The lender currently signs up around 450,000 new customers every month across South Africa and the Philippines.

The company now serves more than 21 million customers through its operations and partnerships. Jacobs explained that management wants workers to feel like long-term stakeholders rather than ordinary employees.

“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 digital lender is widely regarded as Africa’s first profitable standalone digital bank. That position has helped attract investors and global fintech attention. Patrice Motsepe’s investment company, African Rainbow Capital Investments, remains the majority owner of the business.

GoTyme Bank also counts China’s Tencent Holdings among its investors. In the Philippines, the lender operates through a joint venture with the Gokongwei Group.

Beyond Africa and the Philippines, the company has also expanded into Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Vietnam.

IPO plans still on the table

The company also confirmed that it still plans to pursue a future stock market listing. However, Jacobs said management has become more careful about placing fixed timelines on the IPO process.

“We’ve publicly said we want to do this before the next decade, but we do talk about it slightly differently now,” he 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.”

According to Jacobs, the lender may consider listing on a global exchange once it reaches roughly 50 million customers and secures what management considers the right valuation.

GoTyme’s valuation climbed to about $1.5 billion in 2024 after a fundraising round that included a $150 million investment from Nu Holdings.

Although Jacobs did not disclose a fresh valuation, he revealed that the lender expects to record a new annual profit milestone for the financial year ending in June.