South Africa’s most valuable bank bets big on the JSE’s newest company

FirstRand is set to acquire a 20.1% stake in fintech giant Optasia, which is set to list on the JSE in November 2025.

Founded in 2012, Optasia is one of the world’s largest AI-powered fintech platforms, operating in 38 countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia, with South Africa and Nigeria among its largest markets.

The company uses AI and around 5,000 data points to assess creditworthiness and offer microloans and cash advances to underbanked customers.

Optasia works with mobile partners, including South African telecoms giants MTN and Vodacom. To date, the company has extended more than $20 billion in small loans and credit facilities.

Its AI model processes more than 32 million transactions per day, and the company has 121 million active users.

Optasia’s scale has made its upcoming JSE listing one of the most exciting Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in South Africa in years.

The company is set to list on the JSE’s Main Board on Monday, 3 November 2025, with its IPO expected to raise R1.3 billion.

On Monday, 27 November, South Africa’s most valuable bank by market cap, FirstRand, announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a substantial stake in Optasia.

FirstRand is set to acquire 20.1% of Optasia’s ordinary shares at a price of R19 per share. This transaction is an off-market bilateral investment.

The banking giant said this investment represents an exciting opportunity to leverage a proven fintech platform with a successful track record of solving the lending needs of those who have had difficulty accessing traditional credit products. 

“Optasia’s ability to pre-score customers, process microloans at scale and use mobile data sales as a credit collection mechanism is highly innovative and is clearly meeting the needs of millions of customers in 38 countries across Africa, the Middle East and Asia,” it said. 

“Ultimately, Optasia offers FirstRand access to these new markets and new customers, which would be challenging to acquire organically and provides the group with geographic expansion opportunities in key emerging markets.”

The banking group specifically highlighted that its retail and business bank, FNB, will be in a strong position to leverage Optasia’s proprietary technology and AI capabilities.

It explained that FNB could use the Optasia platform to accelerate its own strategy to grow in segments in South Africa where it is underrepresented and markets in its broader Africa portfolio.

“We are excited to acquire this interest in Optasia, which represents a key step in executing our growth strategy to leverage technology platforms to enhance credit capabilities and expand financial access across the continent,” FirstRand CEO Mary Vilakazi said.