The man running South Africa’s fastest-growing R27 billion bank

Karl Westvig was recently appointed CEO of TymeBank, following over two decades of leading major financial services companies.

Westvig took over on 1 October 2024, taking over as the bank’s former CEO. Coenraad Jonker became the Executive Chairman of the Tyme Group.

He served as the CEO of the Retail and Business Banking division after joining in 2023 and brought a wealth of experience to the role, having founded and led several companies.

After working with the Foschini Group and Direct Axis throughout the 1990s, Westvig became the CEO of the RCS Group when it launched in 1999.

Initially founded by TFG and now owned by French bank BNP Paribas, the RCS Group serves over 2.2 million retail credit customers in collaboration with more than 600 brands.

He left his role as CEO in 2008 but stayed on as a non-executive director until 2012.

He then became the chairman and founder of Como Capital, a venture capital fund that invested in several businesses in credit, protein trading, and the recruitment industry. 

In 2009, he also co-founded two companies: JobCrystal, a career management service, and Redwood Software, a third-party processing business.

Three years later, he became the Group CEO of the Mauritius-based African Finance Bank (AFB), which was building a consumer finance business in Africa, excluding South Africa. 

After departing AFB in 2015, he would take over as CEO of Retail Capital in 2015, having served as its chairman since 2011.

Retail Capital provided accessible and flexible alternatives to traditional business loans for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The company used data science and analytics to enhance the speed and cost-effectiveness of the capital available to our clients.

This made it easier for businesses to secure funding without the hidden costs of excessive interest rates.

Outside of his business interests, Westvig served on the board of the non-profit Kuyasa Fund, which uses microfinance to improve the housing conditions of South Africa’s poor communities.

He is also a fellow at the Africa Leadership Initiative SA and the ASPEN Institute, which both help entrepreneurs improve their leadership skills through networking.

He is also highly involved at his former high school, Wynberg Boys High, and founded the Old Boys Legacy Fund.

The fund provides financial assistance to students in need and hopes to build a sustainable endowment. Launched in 2023, it raised R50 million in just two years.

Joining TymeBank

Retail Capital would become part of the TymeGroup in December 2022 for R1.5 billion, with Westvig joining as the CEO of Retail and Business Banking.

“There is an incredible synergy between Retail Capital and TymeBank, starting with the ethos to provide affordable banking to consumers and businesses,” said Westvig at the time of the acquisition.

“The cultural fit is seamless, and the power of Tyme’s technology, distribution and deposits and Retail Capital’s funding capabilities make this a very natural partnership.”

TymeBank reached its first month of profitability in December 2023, less than five years since its February 2019 launch, becoming the first digital bank in Africa to do so.

The bank will also hit its 10 million customer mark in October 2024 and have dispersed R12 billion in funding to SMEs.

Outside of South Africa, the group also benefited from the performance of GOTyme Bank, which is already the fastest-growing bank in the Philippines with three million customers.

The group is also looking for further growth in Vietnam and Indonesia, and it aims to list the business in 2028.

In December 2024, the group was valued at $1.5 billion (roughly R27 billion at the time) and is building scale as it prepares for its initial public offering, with listings planned for New York and Johannesburg.