RMB helps Optasia expand and enable financial inclusion

MEDIA RELEASE

17 NOVEMBER 2023

RMB helps Optasia gear for pan-African and global expansion

RMB has played a pivotal role in facilitating Optasia’s ambitious expansion plans, acting as Joint Mandated Lead Arranger and Joint Funder on a USD175 million funding package, where RMB worked with a co-lender to refinance existing debt and provided growth funding to fuel Optasia’s strategic ambitions. The financing will enable Optasia to continue its expansion into Africa and globally, with innovative solutions that enable financial inclusion and allow previously underbanked customers to access broader financial services.

Optasia is a global fintech services provider whose AI-led platform enables instant access to financial solutions for millions of underbanked individuals and SMEs across over 30 countries, mainly in emerging markets. The company’s B2B2X (business to business to customers and SMEs) model and its financial technology AI platform allows them to build and offer to partners a broad range of financial services, from consumer and enterprise finance solutions, to credit scoring, as well as data science as a service and platform as a service.

The company’s AI-led platform provides a range of solutions, including microlending solutions in a digital first model to underbanked and unbanked populations in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Latin America. They also offer airtime and data advances through an innovative solution that brings various airtime credit and lending products under the same roof and delivers them with one platform installation that combines machine learning, artificial intelligence and data science to increase the credit scoring models’ efficiency. In addition, Optasia helps mobile network operators to uncover new revenue sources by serving the market with core financial infrastructure services.

“Currently their operations span over 30 countries and they continue to have aggressive growth targets that will enable them to reach the previously un- and underbanked through innovative solutions in important jurisdictions globally. Access to growth capital in hard currency will enable them to accelerate their plans over the next five years, expanding in their existing geographies as well as accessing new markets. Our financing solution will empower the management team and support their strategic imperatives,” says Corrie Cronje, Leveraged Finance Transactor at RMB.

In addition to the jointly delivered term funding, RMB also acts as the Facility Agent on the funding package and has been providing Optasia with structured short-term funding and bridge facilities. This assisted them with funding operational requirements linked to contract acquisitions and supported the ongoing growth of their offering.

“RMB has a longstanding relationship with Optasia going back to 2018 and our short-term and bridge facilities have been instrumental in helping them set up their product offering. Their innovative solutions reach previously unbanked individuals and create employment in key markets, and they are an important contributor to increasing financial inclusion and increased access to digital financing solutions across the continent,” says Chidi Iwuchukwu, Head of Investment Banking for Broader Africa at RMB.

“With 1.7 billion adults – most of them in emerging markets – remaining underbanked and without proper access to traditional financial establishments. Optasia, through its AI-led data engine and proprietary algorithms, bridges this gap and enables financial inclusion for all by empowering its partners to provide credible financial solutions where they are needed the most. Optasia views RMB as a key strategic partner since 2018 and their extended network and ability to deliver innovative solutions within the required timeframes have been instrumental on our journey,” Mark Muller from Optasia concludes.

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