South Africa’s most valuable bank buys R1.5 billion stake in…See more
FirstRand Limited has bought around R1.5 billion worth of additional shares in fintech company Optasia, adding to the stake it already acquired last year.
FirstRand increased its shareholding in Optasia to 26.1% through the latest acquisition, acquiring an additional 6% stake.
The company, which owns FNB, RMB, WesBank, Ashburton Investments, and more, acquired 74,103,711 ordinary shares in Optasia at R20.00 per share.
The company acquired the shares from Bassim Haidar, founder and non-executive director of Optasia.
The new investment adds to FirstRand’s initial strategic investment in Optasia in October 2025, where it acquired 20.1% of Optasia ahead of its IPO.
Haidar now owns 1.5% of Optasia’s total issued shares, remains on the company’s board, and continues to support the company’s strategic direction.
“We are delighted that FirstRand has increased its investment in Optasia,” said Salvador Anglada, Optasia’s Chief Executive Officer.
“The exceptional performance reported for full year 2025 demonstrates how well positioned Optasia is to address the substantial market opportunity and advance its strategic pursuit of disciplined, responsible scaling to create long-term sustainable value for all stakeholders.”
Founded in 2012, Optasia is a publicly listed AI-powered financial infrastructure platform that specialises in expanding financial access across emerging markets.
The company acts as the technology and risk intelligence layer behind its partners’ financial products.
It offers Micro Financing Solutions (MFS) and Airtime Credit Solutions (ACS) through mobile systems that reach millions of underserved consumers.
The company was designed for data-scarce markets, and its platform combines real-time data, advanced analytics and machine learning to support responsible credit decisioning at scale.
The company helps its partners assess creditworthiness beyond traditional financial records and helps establish financial identities and participate more fully in the digital economy.
Optasia processes over 34 million transactions daily and operates across 38 countries. The Dubai-headquartered company listed on the JSE in November 2025, which raised R6.5 billion.
FirstRand is South Africa’s most valuable bank with a market cap of R500 billion, having reclaimed the title from Capitec, whose market cap is currently R493 billion.
Optasia’s independent chairman is Michael Jordaan, who previously served as CEO of FNB.
