Lessons from Tyme Group’s Coen Jonker on Building a Fintech Unicorn
Coenraad (Coen) Jonker, Founder and CEO of Tyme Group, radiates quiet confidence, driven by his staunch belief that banking can always be rebuilt for the better.
This is the mind behind Tyme Group, the digital banking business that began in South Africa with a simple mission: to bring the unbanked into the fold, profitably and at a population scale.
In a sector famous for promising inclusion, Tyme has successfully delivered real impact to millions of customers without concern for borders, referring to itself as a multi-country digital bank.
Today, Tyme calls Singapore home, with 15+ million customers across South Africa, the Philippines, and soon Indonesia. TIME magazine also recently included Tyme on their 2025 list of the 100 Most Influential Companies, ranking it alongside Apple and Nubank.
And yes, Tyme is a fintech unicorn, backed by the likes of Tencent, Gokongwei Group, ARC Investments, and most recently, NuBank.
Coen sat down in conversation with our Chief Editor, Vincent Fong, where he opened up about a chance elevator ride that superchanged his company’s vision, his obsession with serving human potential, and how boxing helps him keep his warrior spirit alive across continents.
Luck is When Opportunity Meets Preparation
Coen reflected on what many call “luck,” describing it instead as a dance between how the world shapes us and how we respond in return. A perfect illustration of this, for Coen, came at the end of 2023.
At an Endeavor black-tie event, Coen happened to share a lift with David Vélez, founder of Nubank, one of the world’s largest fintech banks in Latin America. What began as a chance elevator conversation turned into a game-changing partnership.
Later that night, Coen remembered telling his colleagues, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if these guys invested in us?”
Then, just a few months later, Coen got a call out of the blue from David. Nubank had done a piece of research on the best countries to do digital banking in, and Tyme was active in quite a few of them. It seemed like the perfect time to have connect and have a chat.
David Vélez, Founder and CEO of Nubank
And as they say, Coen added, the rest is history.
Coen quipped and shared that his wife always told him he’s very lucky. He says that while that is true, he also believes that luck is where opportunity meets preparation.
You have to keep broadening the surface area for luck to land, by building relationships, showing up, and connecting with people. That’s how you make sure luck finds you, and your business, again and again.
How to Build a Fintech Unicorn
Vincent posed a question that has undoubtedly crossed many founders’ minds. It’s easy to be a successful founder when the market is booming, but the true test comes in times of crisis, similar to what Coen experienced in 2022.
Sure, unicorns are more common now than they were a decade ago, yet many founders grapple with the art of raising funds to scale and sustain their businesses. How can they navigate that, he asked Coen?
“Valuation is an outcome, like happiness. It’s not the mission,” Coen reflected.
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Storytelling is the superpower of entrepreneurs Coen Jonker Founder, Tyme Group explains the secrets to becoming a unicorn #fintech #banking #innovation #entrepreneur #Asia #unicorn #fyp #foryou
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He cautioned that founders too often obsess over headline valuations. That can quickly become unhealthy, especially in volatile markets, where a sky-high valuation today can turn into a burden tomorrow.
Founders should instead focus on striking a fair deal that balances rewards for early believers and incentives for new investors, ensuring everyone stays motivated for the long haul.
Beyond valuation, Coen emphasised what he called the superpower of entrepreneurs: storytelling. A narrative grounded in integrity, anchored to true substance.
“Telling a good story is extremely important, but telling it in a way that has integrity that is well aligned to the substance of your business is equally important, too.”
Good investors, he argued, do not expect perfection, but they do expect honesty and conviction. Overselling is a temptation, but authenticity is far more powerful.
Finally, Coen sees the cap table as a support system. He shares that Tyme has been lucky to count Tencent, British International Investment (BII), and African Rainbow Capital among its backers, partners who have stood by the team while holding them to a higher standard.
His advice here is clear: choose partners who bring not only capital, but also wisdom, accountability, and staying power, the hallmarks of smart money.
These are people you trust, respect, and genuinely want to spend time with, because as Coen put it simply, “You’re going to be spending a lot of time with them.”
What Founders Can Learn from Greek Mythology
Coen shared that a dual mindset, or rather archetypes, is essential for a founder to survive. At the start, he explained, you are Prometheus. Stealing fire from the gods, ready to change the world and give something back to humanity. That is the spark that sets everything in motion.
But once that story is told, he continued, you become Sisyphus. Each day, you push the boulder uphill, only to watch it roll back down and start again. The grind, the setbacks, the weight of responsibilities; these are the hidden truths of building a business. You have to find meaning in that suffering.
“You want to be a visionary. But a visionary is somebody who understands that relationship between the truth, the world of the impossible, and what you can achieve. And once you’ve told a story? You don’t stop working night and day until that story becomes a reality.”
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What Greek Mythology Teaches us About Entrepreunership Coen Jonker, Chairman and Co-Founder of Tyme Group shared valuable lessons about what we can learn from Greek figures like Prometheus and Sisyphus #fintech #banking #innovation #entrepreneur #Asia
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Carpe Diem, Seize the Day
As the conversation drew to a close, Coen reflected on the most valuable lesson of his remarkable journey, a philosophy shaped by his father, a dear mentor, and one of his favourite writers.
His father would tell him every day, as he dropped Coen off, to “Carpe diem — seize the day.” Similarly, a leadership guru taught him, “Pitch up. Pay attention.” Finally, Coen shares that the writer Eckhart Tolle inspired him with the idea that greatness isn’t in the size of your ideas, but in the quality of attention you give to each moment.
“Be here. Now,” Coen shared. “It’s the only place life happens, and it’s the only place where magic can happen.”
It’s a mindset that has guided him through challenges, growth, and even the boxing ring. Because, as he joked, if you aren’t fully present in boxing, you’ll get punched in the face, just like in business.
If you’d like to go even deeper into Coen’s stories and hard-earned wisdom, catch the full podcast episode on YouTube right below. Also, watch out for Coen’s role as one of the judges at this year’s Fintech Frontier 50, where he’ll help recognise and celebrate Southeast Asia’s most promising fintech innovators.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Nubank
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