MyBucks Highlights

MyBucks fintech Awards achieved by Dave and his team

Innovation in 2018

An African visionary with an authentic understanding of how financial technology is change our world, Dave Van Niekerk founded MyBucks in 2011.

Now, en route to the complete digital bank, MyBucks has become globally recognised for it’s technological innovation and responsible lending, and is well-known as a leader in the FinTech space.

Through milestones, like becoming the very first African FinTech company to list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, MyBucks has been integral in the evolution and revolution that will redefine how we bank in the future.

With a presence in 12 countries, with 1.5 million active users across the world, MyBucks now looks forward to an innovative future built on it’s strategic history and uncompromising vision: to build the complete digital bank

MyBucks Highlights

Loan Book Analysis

MyBucks later, at an all in Price on Capfin and Fair Go of less than $6 mill, Exits at a profit

Paul Walshe, CEO of Fair Go Finance

FinTech Fair Go Finances changes hands in $20 million deal

Perth-based fintech startup Fair Go Finance, has a new owner with Skybound Capital Australia buying a 60% in the business from European parent company MyBucks SA as part of a $20 million investment.

Skybound Capital is a global wealth management business, with around AU$1.5 billion in funds under management, and offices in Mauritius, London, Bermuda, Hong Kong and South Africa. It’s keen to increase its exposure in Australia.

Fair Go Finance launched in 2008, offering online credit of up to $10,000 at a 17.9% interest rate.

Skybound Capital Australia CEO Jeremy Thorpe, a Fair Go Finance said his company was impressed by the Fair Go’s “steadfast performance over the past five years”.

“They are focused on developing innovative financial technology that will provide simple, transparent and fast access to online credit products and services,” he said.

“The partnership brings new opportunities for us locally, with investments in debt and equity, and the implementation of a new business strategy leveraging the understanding of the Australian consumer credit market.

Fair Go Finance CEO Paul Walshe said the Skybound backing will allow them to expand.

“This investment will enable us to pursue new avenues of finance technology and growth opportunities quicker, given Skybound’s access to global capital markets,” he said.

“This investment will see us targeting new markets and diversifying our products as opportunities arise.

Fintech Fair Go

Opportunity International partner with MyBucks Group

Opportunity International enters into a ground-breaking agreement with FinTech company MyBucks Group to better serve customers throughout Africa.

Opportunity International recently agreed to sell the majority of it’s shares of six bank serving sub-Saharan Africa to the MyBucks Group. MyBucks Group is a Luexembourg-based financial technology company that holds the brands GetBucks, GetSure and GetBanked. This is a particularly ground-breaking partnership because it marks the first time FinTech company has acquired banks to help reconcile virtual and traditional banking.

Meet the man championing FinTech in Africa – Dave Van Niekerk founder of MyBucks

South African-born Dave van Niekerk is the founder and CEO of MyBucks, a fast-growing African Fintech company that successfully delivers seamless financial services to banked and ‘unbanked’ consumers alike using next-generation technological platforms.

MyBucks, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, has a broad portfolio of virtual banking products which includes lending, insurance and banking, and is supported by services such as mobile banking, credit reports with credit education features, financial budgeting, and emergency cover through insurance. The company operates in 12 African countries and has offered loans to over 700,000 customers.

I caught up with him recently and we talked about how FinTech will play a role in Africa’s next phase of growth, and MyBucks future plans.

What pivoted you towards FinTech as an enterprise?

Having managed and grown banking and financial institutions the old fashioned way with “bricks not clicks”, the inspiration behind MyBucks was both to capitalize on the growing Financial Technology industry with the goal of providing financially inclusive products digitally, to both the formal sector and to the previously unbanked or under banked across Africa. Financial inclusion is a unique challenge and would simply not be viable in the long term without technological advances. The investment and social impact opportunity in creating MyBucks was, and remains wholly worthwhile.

Your company recently launched its IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Concurrently, as the ‘Brexit’ fallout continues, it looks as though Berlin may be stepping up to replace London as Europe’s top FinTech capital. What was the motivation to list publically, why Germany and where do you see MyBucks going from here with regard to European integration?

Long before ‘Brexit’, we viewed Germany as an ideal financial hub for launching our Initial Public Offering. The nation has a reputation for strong governance, which will in turn create a measurable and transparent valuation of our company, metrics that investors internationally will look for when making a decision on an outfit operating within an industry as innovative as FinTech.

Great Britain has been well regarded as perhaps a leading FinTech hub in Europe (with this week’s ‘FinTech Week’ in London serving as a symbolic reminder), however amidst ‘Brexit’ aftershocks, opportunity lies in the stability we continue to see in Europe’s economic hub, Germany.

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Man Championing

Doing Well by Doing Good

MyBucks business model carries an inherent social mission by providing financial solutions to people that would otherwise be financially excluded. MyBucks is proud to have received validation of three subsidiaries within the group with social impact ratings from international ratings agency MicroFinanza. GetBucks Botswana was awarded a B+ social rating. Opportunity Bank Uganda and Opportunity Bank Mozambique were also recognised by the ratings agency with a BB and B+ rating, respectively. The social rating looks at social performance management, client protection systems and alignment to the social mission of the companies and group.