Optasia raises $330M for emerging‑market lending
Optasia closed $330M (R6.1bn) in multi‑jurisdictional funding led by Rand Merchant Bank to expand digital lending across 38 emerging markets, the company said. The round is positioned to scale its lending footprint in those regions. (x.com)
Optasia has lined up $330 million in new funding to expand its digital lending business across 38 emerging markets. (rmb.co.za) Rand Merchant Bank said on April 10 it led the multi-jurisdiction funding package as underwriter, mandated lead arranger and largest lender. The package combines term funding with guarantee facilities for Channel VAS Investments Limited, the company behind Optasia. (rmb.co.za) Standard Bank said the refinancing included $180 million of term facilities and $150 million of bank guarantees, with the bank joining the underwriting and syndication. The lender said the structure was designed to increase funding certainty and capacity as Optasia grows. (corporateandinvestment.standardbank.com) Optasia’s business is built around very small digital loans and airtime advances delivered through mobile network operators, banks and digital wallets. On its investor relations page, the company says that partner model gives it access to large customer bases without building a branch network. (optasia.com) That model is aimed at customers who are often underbanked or unbanked in markets across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Optasia says it uses algorithmic credit scoring to decide who can borrow and on what terms. (rmb.co.za) The funding lands months after FirstRand agreed to buy about 20% of Optasia ahead of its Johannesburg Stock Exchange listing. Business Insider Africa reported in October 2025 that the deal was part of a push to deepen digital lending in underrepresented markets. (africa.businessinsider.com) By late 2025, Standard Bank was describing Optasia as the biggest fintech initial public offering on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that year. The bank said it had backed the company from its earlier growth stages through to the listing. (cnbcafrica.com) TechCentral reported this week that microfinance has started to overtake airtime advances as a revenue driver for Optasia, a shift that helps explain why banks are willing to provide longer-term capital. That gives Optasia more room to keep pushing the same lending model into more markets, rather than funding growth country by country. (techcentral.co.za)
